Moments after his spoke, a great flash of light lit up the white landscape before him.
FORCES COLLIDE
After the download of the virus to the Intersect Space Force, the number of active Warbirds plummeted to zero within minutes. Though it was all too late as the Field Generator had been obliterated and now Earth was defenceless against a planet killer. The planet killer was a weapon that impacts with the planet surface and burrows down to the planet core, then explodes. The warhead is ten times the power of a thermomolecular blast. If it were to explode on the planet surface, the discharge would not be great enough to destroy the planet, but near the planet core, it would rupture the planet like a ripe melon.
Planet killers were large missiles, as big as a fighter, and only a heavy bomber could carry one. A large bomber was not able to breach the energy field as did the small Warbird fighter bombers. Now with the field shut down, the planet killers could be launched from any point in the solar system. Ryan knew that launching a planet killer from a great distance was liable to intercept by Planet Killer countermeasures, as were any missile launched at a distance. If launched at close range, their cruising speed of zero point eight of the speed of light would make it unstoppable. For this reason, Ryan deployed the cruisers near Earth to attack any large Warrian ships that may be capable of launching such a weapon.
Charlie noticed that Jenny was unusually quiet as did much of the bridge crew. He stood from the helm and walked down to the next level where Jenny and the rest of the communications division was stationed. He placed his hand on her shoulder making her react by looking up at him. Red teary eyes met his as distress showed clearly on her face. With difficulty, she spoke the words that was on the minds of everyone around them. “I have just lost my family, my friends, everyone. They are all gone!” Charlie hugged her in an effort to offer some form of comfort. Jenny soon pulled away then wiped away her tears as she regained her composure.
Charlie addressed the bridge crew. “Most of us have lost someone today, but we must keep our focus. The battle is not over yet and the future of Earth lies in our hands. Now we have a Warrian fleet to stop.” Jenny returned to her station as did Charlie by Ryan’s side. Quietly Ryan said to him, “Thank you.”
Ryan pressed the comlink button as an image of General Mark Grant appeared. Grant was close to fifty now and much of his head of hair was gone since he last fought against the Warrians. The number one crew cut made it difficult to discern the small amount of greying hair that surrounded the back of his neck. His physique was tall and trim and his silver body hugging uniform was not able to conceal the high level of fitness that he obsessively maintained. “Yes Admiral.”
“The field is down and attack is immanent. So be ready.”
“Ready and waiting Admiral.” He replied while saluting, then his imaged disappeared.
Ryan stood from the helm and said to Charlie, “I have to go now and prepare. You have the Con.”
Charlie looked him in the eye and said, “Don’t worry about us here, we can look after ourselves. Good Luck.”
“Charlie, it all ends here, now, one way or the other.”
“And we are going to go down fighting.” He said with a smile.
Ryan shook Charlie’s hand and said, “In case it all goes to hell, thank you. Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Get out of here and kick his scaly butt.” He replied with a smirk.
Ryan left the bridge of the Endeavour possibly never to see it again.
**********
Zardon sat on the dais gloating over the three dimensional image that displayed the battered Earth. Katie stood a short distance away staring at the Emperor with a look of pure hate. Her expression provided Zardon with some amusement. “I wonder if the citadel you came from iz burning? Mozt of them are.” He finished with a sinister inhuman chuckle.
“Never before have I known true hate until now.” Katie spat.
“Hate iz good. It makez you a better warrior. But then you wouldn’t know much about that.”
The anger within her reached boiling point making her head throb and her clenched fists turn her knuckles white. She launched herself at the Emperor with all the speed she could muster and clenched his thick scaly neck with both hands. Zardon sat there with a grin that exposed his long sharp teeth. Katie squeezed with all her might, but it was like squeezing a thick tree trunk. She continued until her hands ached, then Zardon griped her neck with one massive hand then stood. Katie’s feet dangled several feet above the ground as his grasp constricted her airway turning her face blue. With Katie choking, Zardon studied her again like a lab animal. “There is quite a fire within that withered body. I think I now understand his interest in you.” He let her go allowing her body to collapse onto the floor once more. Katie thought, ‘if there was an Achilles heel within that huge muscular bulk, it was not evident.’
Zardon looked back at the image of Earth and pressed a button on the dais console. The image of the Manta appeared not far from the moon. “I wonder if they have the slightezt idea of how cloze I am to achieving genozide? No, not just yet. I want to thiz moment to lazt.” He pointed at the two small dots that orbited Earth and continued. “Which Interzect cruizer zhall I deztroy firzt? Hmmm, I think, that one.” His finger stopped at the one to the right of Earth. He pressed another button on the console and commanded in his native language, “Warlord Yara, open fire on the cruiser to the right of the planet.”
“Yes my Lord.” Yara’s deep and vaguely feminine voice sounded loud in the quite of the cold dark chamber.
Katie called out with her mind in the hope that Ryan could hear her. “Ryan, Ryan, are you there?”
“I’m here, are you okay? Has he hurt you?”
“Apart from a sore neck, I’m okay. Listen, they are about to attack the cruisers. We are near the..........” Her thoughts were suddenly cut off.
“Katie!....Katie!.....” Ryan cried out.
The Emperor’s voice range loud in Ryan’s head, “Don’t think that I cannot hear you two.”
Ryan was seated at the dais of his chamber in the Endeavour. He focused his thoughts as Valour had taught him and sent an agonising pulse down the line of thought to its source. The Emperor gasped from the unexpected mind projection and momentarily lost his hold over Katie’s mind connection with Ryan.
“Katie, where is the Manta?”
“The Moon, behind the moon!”
“I will be there very soon, just hang on for a little longer.”
“I will.....” She was cut off again as Zardon returned his pulse only twice as strong.
Ryan grabbed his head and cried out as he took the pain. Pushing back the infliction, he quickly sent a message to Charlie. “The Manta is behind the moon.”
**********
The barrage from the Manta struck the Intrepid without warning and drained its shields in moments. General Ubdul Mohammed manoeuvred the large vessel out of the line of fire at maximum thrust, however it was not enough. The shields failed and the high energy laser fire tore away at the superstructure. The port engine pod exploded pushing the Intrepid back into the deadly fray, exposing the starboard engine pod. When it was blasted away from the centre superstructure, the main power storage facility was ignited. The detonation sent out a shock wave that shattered the Intrepid’s superstructure sending it to oblivion.
The young male Warrian at the scanner station quickly relayed a discovery to his superior at the helm. “Warlord Yara, the other cruiser has disappeared.”
“Move to advantage point two, below this moon. The element of surprise is now lost, but they will undoubtedly attack our last estimated position. We can use that to our advantage.” The Manta gracefully negotiated the moon as the cloaking device kept it totally invisible to the eye and to standard detection scanners. The manta had not moved far before the Valiant had reappeared from the dimension jump. General Grant had the main guns of the Valiant to sweep the area that the Manta was la
st estimated, then reactivated the D.D.E.M. Before they disappeared, the Manta had sent a devastating volume of destructive energy at the Valiant that pounded her shields greatly reducing their effectiveness.
Yara commanded, “Come about to between that moon and the planet. We must have a clear shot at all times in case our camouflage is compromised.”
The Warrian at the weapons station asked, “Why do we not destroy it now?”
“Because Warrian, it is the will of the Emperor. And if you question my leadership again I will have your head!”
**********
Grant had the Valiant jump to a safe distance away from the moon and the cloaked Manta. He needed to pin point the Manta somehow to give them a chance of survival. “Do we have a trace yet on their ultraviolet emissions?”
“Sensors are having difficulty sir.” Said the Navigation officer with his broad Irish accent. “The emissions from the Moon are overbearing the subtle emissions from the Manta.”
The Manta opened fire again shaking the bridge like an earth quack.
“Make it quick Mister O’Connell. “Grant ordered.
He played with the sensor controls for a moment then shouted. “I’ve found her General. Just off the southern Lunar pole. She has moved far enough away for a clear signature.”
“Lock on to that signature Mister O’Connell. After the next jump I want to hit the Manta with everything we’ve got.”
The Valiant disappeared again as the Manta manoeuvred to a new location near the Moon. The Valiant reappeared far below the southern pole of the Moon. The Navigation officer, Peter O’Connell, quickly relayed the Manta’s location to the weapons officer. “Sector twelve eight.”
A heartbeat later the main guns of the Valiant echoed like thunder through the ship’s hull. The first wave of energy fire that reached sector twelve eight near the equator of the Moon struck an impenetrable wall. The following waves continued on to impact with the Moon’s surface throwing up a large cloud of dust. Grant spoke to O’Connell with a mixed tone of urgency and authority. “Project the ultraviolet emission anomaly location onto the defence grid. Then our weapons can track it.”
“Yes sir.” O’Connell replied.
The next wave of laser fire from the Manta struck the Valiant depleting its shields to an ineffective level. The Weapons Officer, Lauren Baudoux relayed the critical data to General Grant. “Shields are down to five percent sir. Overlay complete, main guns realigning.”
“All power to the forward shields. Fire when ready.” Grant ordered.
Again the main guns roared sending a massive destructive force at the Manta’s location. From that location came the next barrage from the Manta. The starboard engine pod exploded throwing the Valiant into a sideward motion. Her main guns continued to fire upon the projected location with superb accuracy. Like a phantom, the disturbing shape of a gigantic manta ray appeared near the Moon. Despite her unveiling, the Manta continued to throttle the Valiant. The tail section tore away from the main fuselage as a great fire flared from the massive wound. With all propulsion systems shattered and her guns finally silenced, the Valiant left a great smoke trail as it headed on a collision course with the Moon.
Evacuation sirens sounded as the surviving bridge crew fought a blazing fire that cut them off from the passage to the escape pods. Grant, now smeared with ash and blood from multiple contusions inflicting his battered body, he looked about the remains of the proud ship he had commanded for all those years. She had done him proud once more, completing her vital mission as she did before in last battle against the Warrians. This time was to unveil the Manta. It amazed him that for all those years of service, her downfall unfolded in a matter of minutes. He felt numb to the image of so many familiar faces that now laid dead about the bridge; O’Connell and Baudoux among them. The realisation was yet to come, if he lived to deal with it.
The fires about the escape pod passage were finally silenced, and the battered bridge crew of the crippled Valiant abandoned ship. Grant took one last look before disappearing down the narrow corridor.
**********
“Zorn, Finish it off.” Yara ordered her Weapons Officer. She sat proud in her seat as the battle unfolded in her favour. Her fears of an unnatural war as told by former veterans had not transpired. For this she was grateful. Whatever supernatural power the Emperor possessed, it had not been unleashed, yet. “When will the cloaking shield be recharged?” She questioned the Warrian at the shield control station below her.
“The cruiser has caused considerable damage to the field nodes. It will take about two minutes to replace them, and another five to recharge.” She answered.
“Seven minutes is too long Teara, the mother vessel will be upon us before then.” As the echo of her words faded within the bridge, a great shudder inflicted the Manta. Another, then another.
The Navigation Officer reported the source of the quakes. “Warlord Yara, the mother ship is on our stern.” While their attention was upon the dying Valiant, the Endeavour has materialised behind the Manta and fired at point blank.
“Come about, and redirect all fire to the Battleship.”
*********
Doctor James Chen and his daughter approached Charlie at the helm. James said, “Try to stay behind her. The forward missile launchers have capability to fire shield disrupters. Do you have any such weapons?”
“No, but our main guns can short circuit shield generators given time. Thanks for tip anyway.” Charlie replied.
“Where is Ryan?” Kim Lee asked.
“Busy fighting his own war.”
James and his daughter were puzzled by Charlie’s answer. However, they did not pursue the issue.
The thunderous sound of the main guns of the Endeavour could be heard seventy kilometres away on the bridge. A dull boom and a slight vibration was the final result of sound waves travelling the great distance. The Endeavour manoeuvred around to keep hammering the rear deflector shields of the Manta, and to keep away from the bow missile launch pods. The Manta had sufficient rear defences that retaliated against the Endeavour’s attack, though it was no match for the dual main guns of the Endeavour. The race was on to short circuit the shield generators, and the Endeavour was winning.
*********
The Emperor’s voice sounded out from the helm console, startling Yara. “Fire the field disrupters.”
“My Lord, they are an energy pulse. We cannot direct them to the battleship.” Yara replied, trying to conceal her annoyance of the interruption.
“DO AS I SAY!” Zardon retorted.
Despite Yara’s uneasiness about his request, she conveyed the command. “Launch the shield disrupters.”
Zorn glanced back at Yara with a sense of confusion, then launched the shield disrupters. The two bright pulses of energy shot away from the Manta then to the amazement of the bridge crew, performed a ninety degree turn and headed back towards the Endeavour behind them. A chill travelled down Yara’s strong spin as her primitive senses were disturbed by the unnatural forces driving the missiles against nature.
*********
The disrupters quickly traversed the thousands of kilometres between the two massive vessels. Alarms rang on the Endeavour bridge to alert the approach of a shield disrupter. “That’s’ impossible!” James said to Charlie. But that was not the end of the law of physics defying projectiles. As they approached the Endeavour, their voyage suddenly came to a halt. The two balls of energy remained motionless, then began to move back and forth as if two invisible forces were battling over their supremacy.
As the crew were mesmerised by the defiance of the laws of physics, Charlie did not waste the opportunity. “Fire countermeasures.”
Four small star like objects shot from the bow of the Endeavour and neutralised one of the balls of bright orange energy. However, the other dodged the counter attack and recommenced its voyage of intersect with the Endeavour’s shield horizon. It impacted sending a great burst of orange over the shield horizon and ins
tantly the generator power levels were reduced to twenty percent. Now the Manta had the upper hand.
*********
As the Manta spun on its lateral axis to face her bow to the Endeavour, the torn tail section of the Valiant changed course from its trek into deep space to a collision course with the Manta. The Manta continued its traverse around the light side of the Moon with its stern facing the direction of motion. The Endeavour realising the impending danger of a head on battle with the Manta, activated the D.D.E.M. and disappeared.
“The Battleship has gone Warlord Yara.” Stated Zorn.
“Continue our axis spin to three hundred and sixty degrees and return to our motion vector. They are trying to flank us again.” Yara ordered. As the Manta continued to rotate so that her bow was back in the direction of motion, the ten kilometre long tail section of the Valiant was now moments from impact. Wade, the Navigation Officer, had been monitoring the readouts for an active power source for signs of the Endeavours return, and had neglected to monitor the motion sensors. When he glanced over at the other screen, Wade immediately reported his findings. “Large inactive object dead ahead.”
“Get it up on screen.” The window before them transformed into an image of the Valiant wreckage that slowly spun towards the Manta. Yara wasted no time in issuing her next command. “Blast it, quickly!”
*********
The Guns of the Manta rang out and tore the massive piece into several smaller chunks that continued at the rapidly closing vessel. The first piece met the forward deflector shield with a great explosion that shook everyone on board. The next two met a similar fate creating a brilliant light show as tremors traversed the great extent of the Manta superstructure. The remaining segments smashed through the forward shields like a rock through glass sending a tremendous quake over the Manta. The failing shields shattered the segments into a thousand smaller pieces that tore deep cuts into the thick skin of the Manta. Large holes were punched into the leading Manta edge ejecting spouts of fire from the superstructure skin. Despite the damage, the Manta was designed for battle and all leading edges and exposed surfaces contained none essential chambers and therefore she was still fully operational.
The Great Talisman (Intersect Book 2) Page 18
