by Jay Allan
“Message sent,” said Spalding.
“They don’t sound like the friendly type,” said Johansen.
“Agreed,” said Milburn. “Let’s hope our first impressions are wrong.”
“Receiving response, Sir.”
“Go ahead and play it, Ensign,” said Milburn.
“You dare insult the mighty Kemmar Empire? Power down your engines immediately, or we will fire on you.”
“Insult?” Milburn said incredulously. “What the hell did that damn computer say?”
“I don’t know, Sir. It’s translation accuracy is still at sixty-five percent,” said Spalding.
“Goddamnit,” said Milburn. “Send the following transmission. We apologize for any offense. Our computer made an error in translation. We did not mean to insult you.”
“Aye, Sir. Message sent. Receiving response,” said Spalding, and Milburn gestured for her to play it.
“You will submit to the boarding of your vessel. Failure to do so is a violation of Kemmar law.”
“That’s it? That’s their response?” said Milburn.
“I’m afraid so, Sir,” said Spalding.
“Commander, how long until we are in weapons’ range?”
“Fifteen minutes, Sir,” said Johansen.
“There is no way in hell that we are going to let these creatures board our ship. We didn’t escape the Juttari to become prisoners of these Kemmar. Helm, turn us around, and take us back out of this system.”
“Aye, Sir,” said Lieutenant Taleb.
The Invincible’s navigational thrusters fired, altering its course and bringing the destroyer about so it could return the way it came.
“The Kemmar are firing,” said Johansen. Several concussions followed, rocking the ship, and jostling the bridge crew.
“I thought we weren’t in weapons range yet?” said Milburn.
“We’re not, but they are. They’ve hit us with an energy weapon, although the distance seems to have dissipated it, causing only minor damage.”
“Helm, get us the hell out of here. Ten cee,” said Milburn.
An FTL bubble formed around the Invincible and it sped away from the hostiles.
“Sir, the Kemmar ships have entered FTL. They are in pursuit.”
“These Kemmar don’t take no for an answer. Maintain course. They’ll grow tired of the chase soon enough.”
“Sir, Kemmar ships are gaining on us.”
“What’s their speed?”
“Twelve cee.”
“Increase speed to twelve cee.” Milburn wouldn’t normally push the aging engines harder than ten cee, but he didn’t see an alternative.
“Kemmar vessels are increasing speed. They’re now at fourteen cee.”
“Match speed. Take us to fourteen cee.”
“Kemmar ships now at sixteen cee.”
“Damn it. Take us to sixteen cee.”
“Captain, our engines can’t handle this kind of strain,” said Johansen.
“I know, Commander. I’m hoping it won’t be for much longer.”
“We are dropping speed,” said Lieutenant Taleb at the helm. “Fourteen cee, twelve, ten, eight. FTL is failing. We are dropping out of FTL.”
“Engineering is reporting the FTL engines are down,” said Johansen. “Repair teams are responding.”
“Ready all weapons and bring point defense system online,” said Milburn. “Turn us around to face the enemy. Target the ship off our port bow and fire all weapons on my mark.” Milburn watched the Kemmar warships drop out of FTL on his display. “Fire.”
The gun batteries on the Invincible burst into action. Crimson colored particle beams lanced out at the Kemmar warship, while kinetic weapons fired large projectiles. A volley of missiles joined in the attack, shooting out of their tubes, racing toward their target.
“Particle weapons have scored a direct hit. Kinetic weapons have missed their mark,” said Johansen. “Compensating. Re-firing kinetic weapons. Missiles have been destroyed by defensive weapons. Enemy is firing.”
“Evasive maneuvers,” said Milburn. The ship shuddered as the Kemmar energy beams raked its hull.
“Kemmar ships have launched clusters of what appear to be small autonomous kill vehicles. There are hundreds of them.”
Milburn gripped his armrests, bracing for the devastating blow.
“Point defense system has destroyed all AKVs,” Johansen said excitedly.
“Launch another missile volley,” said Milburn. “Focus our particle beams on their defensive batteries.”
“Aye, Sir. Retargeting particle beams. Launching missiles.”
The Kemmar warships circled the Invincible like a pair of hungry wolves, their energy weapons relentlessly ravaging its hull. Evasive maneuvers were proving futile against the enemy’s long range beams, but the Invincible’s focused fire started yielding results.
“Missiles have scored several direct hits,” said Johansen. “Detecting hull breach on targeted warship.”
“Target the breach with particle beams,” ordered Milburn.
Red beams of high-energy charged protons bore into the damaged ship, exasperating its wounds. The tear grew, and gasses were vented into space, along with equipment and bodies.
“Kemmar warship is retreating,” said Johansen.
“What about the other one?” said Milburn. The jostle of energy weapon impacts quickly answered his question. “Ensign Spalding, send the following transmission. Kemmar warship, break off your attack or we will be forced to destroy your vessel.”
“Aye, Sir. Message sent.”
“Sir, armor plating around deck five is losing integrity,” said Johansen.
“Evacuate the deck, and seal it off.”
“Sir, Kemmar have responded,” said Spalding.
“Play the message, Ensign.”
The transmission played through the ship’s speakers. “The Kemmar do not surrender to pirates. You will have to destroy us.”
“Surrender? Pirates? What the hell is that damn computer saying to them?” Milburn said in exasperation.
“I’m sorry, Sir. The translation is still not perfect,” said Spalding.
Fresh energy beams struck the Invincible. New waves of the autonomous kill vehicles were launched from the remaining Kemmar ship. The Invincible returned fire, hitting back hard with its plasma beams, and kinetic weapons. The two ships stood toe to toe. They would slug it out in a simple test of strength and endurance.
“Hull breach on deck five,” said Johansen. “Reporting no casualties. Deck successfully evacuated and sealed off.”
Milburn nodded. “Maintain a lock on their defensive weapons. Punch a hole for our missiles.”
“Aye, Sir. Concentrating fire on their defensive batteries.”
“Launch missiles.”
“Missiles away.”
The salvo of missiles raced toward the Kemmar warship. With some of the defensive guns down, several missiles made it through, detonating in bright flashes against the Kemmar hull.
“Direct hit. Detecting fissures in the Kemmar hull.”
“Ready another missile strike,” said Milburn.
“Sir, Engineering is reporting the FTL engines are back online.”
“Belay that order. Get us the hell out of here. 10 cee.”
“Aye, Sir. Entering FTL.”
“Are the Kemmar in pursuit?”
“Negative.”
“Good. Set a course for the jump gate.”
Chapter 4
“Commander, what is our status?” said Milburn.
“We need substantial repairs on the hull. We have a major breach on deck five to seal, and numerous minor fissures throughout the hull. Internally, the battle resulted in significant damage throughout the ship, and Engineering is reporting that the FTL engine needs a complete overhaul,” said Commander Johansen.
“I thought the FTL engine was operational?”
“It was only a temporary fix. Enough to get us on our way, but more work nee
ds to be done, to avoid future problems.”
“How long will that take?”
“Best case scenario, thirty-six hours.”
“Why so long?”
“Like the rest of the ship, the FTL engine is old. Even with regular service, the wear and tear over the years has taken its toll.”
“I see.”
“There’s another problem,” Johansen continued. “We didn’t anticipate going into battle in our prior calculations. Our resources are no longer sufficient to conduct repairs.”
“So, we need to replenish our resources before we can undertake repairs?”
“Yes, Sir. We can still manage some of the minor repairs. But for the major ones, we will need more raw materials.”
“And the closest place to get those materials is on the other side of the jump gate, or in the Kemmar system.”
“I’m afraid so, Sir.”
“Then we have only one option. I assume we have sufficient resources to reach the jump gate?”
“Yes, Sir. Engineering is asking that we don’t put any unnecessary strain on the FTL engine.”
“Contact!” said Ensign Spalding. “Long range scans have picked up an unidentified vessel.”
“Bearing?” said Milburn.
“It appears to be on an intercept course, Sir.”
“The Kemmar?” said Johansen.
“Who else?” said Milburn. “Helm, maintain present course and speed.” Milburn pulled up the contact on a tactical display and ran some calculations. “The bogey’s faster than us. It’ll be close, but at our present speed it will catch us before we reach the jump gate.”
“We’re going to have another battle on our hands,” said Johansen.
“Yes, unless they cease pursuit, or we increase speed.”
“Increasing speed might burn out the FTL engine.”
“Agreed. We’ll maintain speed for now. See to it that repairs are prioritized for combat. We need to be ready.”
“Aye, Sir. Leave it to me.”
Chapter 5
Milburn studied the contact on his display. Ten days had passed since they had first spotted it, and it had stayed with them the entire time. Each day closing the distance a bit more, until it was close enough to clearly make out its dimensions. This ship was larger than the first two, about the size of a battle cruiser. And if size was any indication, it would have significantly more firepower than the Invincible.
In the previous engagement, Milburn found that they were somewhat evenly matched. The Kemmar ships were faster, and their weapons had a longer range, but they didn’t pack as much of a punch. Their armor did not appear quite as robust as the Invincible’s. Perhaps they favored speed, over armor. It was just a guess. Everything was. They knew so little about the Kemmar, and the only certainty was that this ship would catch them.
Then what? The way Milburn saw it, they had a few choices. They could take the larger ship on, and hope for the best. Not a great plan, considering their ship’s condition. Or they could simply race to the jump gate. But if the Kemmar were unaware of its existence, which seemed likely at this point, they would give it away. An option Milburn didn’t like. The third option was to just keep going. Even if the ship caught up, it couldn’t stop them. Firing at FTL speeds would be a waste of time. The Invincible could just keep flying until the Kemmar ship tired of the chase.
He settled on the third option as the logical choice. They would continue past the jump gate and maintain course until the Kemmar felt they had chased them off. Likely when they reached the border of the Kemmar Empire, wherever that may be.
They knew so little about this region of space, and its inhabitants. Even the colonies were unaware of Kemmar existence. That made sense since the colonies expanded in the opposite direction. There was enough space between the two that they could continue for a long time without bumping into each other.
“Sir, we have a problem,” said Commander Johansen.
“What’s wrong?” said Milburn.
“It’s the FTL engine, Sir. Engineering is saying that we have to come out of FTL, or we will cause irreparable damage to it.”
“Did you advise them that we have a Kemmar warship bearing down on us?”
“Yes, Sir. They’re aware of the situation. Their response was that either we stop voluntarily, giving us a chance to fix the engine. Or we do so involuntarily, and lose any hope of repairing it.”
Milburn took a deep breath, in hopes of containing his rising anger. “What is the status of our repairs?”
“As per your request, we have prioritized the hull fissures, weapons, and our critical systems. All weapons and critical systems are online. The hull has been repaired and the armor reinforced for the most part. Much of the work we could do from the inside. But work on deck five has only been partially completed. We don’t have enough raw materials for the job. Also, there is substantial work that needs to be done from the exterior of the ship, and we can’t do that while at FTL speeds.”
“How will it hold up in battle?”
“Not well. It is in better shape than before, as the seals have all been reinforced, but is nowhere near an armored hull. We’ve established a buffer around it, so that if we lose the deck we won’t lose the surrounding areas.”
“The breach is on the port side. We’ll just have to make sure the enemy only sees our starboard side. Very well, we’ll have a brief element of surprise. Ready all weapons. I want to open fire the second they come out of FTL.”
“Aye, Sir. All weapons are standing by.”
“Helm, take us out of FTL, and whatever happens, I want you to ensure our port side is always pointed away from the enemy.”
“Aye, Sir. Dropping out of FTL in three, two, one.”
The FTL bubble around the Invincible dissipated, bringing them out of light speed and back into normal space. The move was so sudden that the Kemmar warship overshot them. When they did come out of FTL, they were out of range of Invincible’s weapons.
So much for a surprise attack, thought Milburn. “Helm, close with the enemy. Flank speed. Get us within weapons’ range.”
The Invincible surged forward. Milburn didn’t relish the idea of the Kemmar taking pot shots with their longer-range energy weapons, so he would take the fight to them instead.
“Fire kinetic weapons. Let’s see how their armor holds up against our slugs,” said Milburn. While their particle beams were still out of range, the advantage of projectiles in space was that they would keep going until they hit something. And, unlike missiles, a projectile was almost invisible to a ship’s sensors. In fact, it was this reality that prompted Earth to build warships with armor thick enough to withstand such an attack. Of course, that was when they thought they would only have to fight against other humans.
Ever since the Mars uprising, Earth had been preoccupied with the specter of rebellion. This fear was magnified with the discovery of the jump gate, and the establishment of the colonies on the other side, one thousand light years away. Much of the strategic planning in place was obsessed with putting down a rebellion in the colonies. As such, warships were built to withstand a pounding while asserting their dominance. Human fighting human. It all seemed so foolish now.
The Juttari invasion had proved them all fools. Now, here they were floating in an entirely different region of space, dealing with yet another aggressive alien race. How many more such races were lurking throughout the galaxy?
“Enemy is firing energy weapons,” said Ensign Spalding, as beams of red lanced out toward them from the alien warship.
The Invincible shuddered, absorbing the strike. “Maintain course,” said Milburn, the adrenalin coursing through his veins. “Did our projectiles have any effect?”
“If they did, it’s only minor,” said Johansen. “There are no signs of significant damage to the enemy’s hull.”
Maybe this ship is tougher than the previous ones, thought Milburn.
“Entering weapons’ range,” announced Johansen.
“Fire all weapons,” ordered Milburn. “Target their defensive batteries. Punch a hole for our missiles.” It worked before. No reason why it can’t work again.
“Kemmar ship is taking evasive action.”
“Stay on them. Keep firing.”
Explosions rocked the Invincible as the Kemmar warship returned fire with its many batteries. Even with the thicker armor, the Invincible had a difficult time standing up to the extra weapons, and energy beams punched into the human ship in multiple locations.
“Hull integrity is weakening.”
“Keep targeting their defensive weapons. Helm, show them our underside. Let them shoot at that for a while.” Built to better withstand atmospheric entry, the ships bottom plating was substantially thicker than the rest of the hull.
The Invincible tilted away from the Kemmar ship, absorbing the onslaught on its belly. They continued to return fire with the gun batteries that remained in firing position.
“Have any of our missiles gotten through?” said Milburn.
“Negative, Sir. None got past their defensive weapons,” said Johansen. “They’re launching AKVs.”
The Kemmar warship let loose a cluster of tiny kill vehicles. Numbering in the hundreds, they raced toward the Invincible, like a swarm of locusts. As they closed in they hit the fiery shield that was the Invincible’s point defense system.
“All AKVs have been destroyed,” said Johansen. “They’re launching another wave.”
“They’re trying to overwhelm our defenses,” said Milburn. They’ll get through sooner or later, he thought.
“Point defense shield is holding. Here comes another wave. This one is much larger than the first two.”
“The first two waves were tests. This is the real attack.”
The AKV swarm converged on the Invincible, enveloping the human ship, and finding its weakness.
“AKVs are getting through our point defense shield,” said Johansen. “There’s too many of them. AKVs attacking deck five.”
The successful kill vehicles found the hull breach on deck five, and proceeded to crash into the remaining portion of the deck, detonating on contact.
