by M. D. Cooper
REGION: Inner Albany System, Thebes, Septhian Alliance
Rachel felt sweat pouring down her head as the Nietzscheans continued to fire on the I2.
The great vessel was wrapped in a fire hotter than the corona of a B-class star. Protons, electrons, and neutrons ceased to exist as they stopped instantaneously, halted by the I2’s shields.
The energy shed from atomic particles’ relativistic speeds’ instant cessation tore them apart, reflecting degenerate matter and quantum particles in all directions.
The nearby ISF ships were protected by the deadly wave of ricocheting energy by their own stasis shields. But as the energy reflecting off the I2 spread back out toward the Nietzschean ships, they would soon find that their shields were being weakened by their own weapons fire.
Or so Rachel hoped.
Rachel nodded. At that point, their only hope would be to drop into the dark layer. Current maps indicated that there should be a pocket right here, but no one kept detailed public maps of dark matter this deep in a star system. Normally, there was no need to.
It was a terrible gamble, but one they’d all gladly make to save Tanis.
No one spoke for another thirty seconds; all eyes were on the CriEn shutdown timer.
Then came the words they all craved hearing.
“Enemy fire has ceased!” Scan cried out, triggering sighs of relief around the bridge.
Rachel still couldn’t see the battlespace, but that was expected. The shields—and the space around them—would take a moment to cool off and bleed away enough EM radiation to see through.
“We have imaging!” Scan called out again, and visuals from beyond the shield began to filter in through pinhole sensor openings. Widening the sensor holes any further would bathe the ship in radiation.
The imaging was weak, and tactical NSAIs worked to plot out where all the enemy ships were.
“Mostly unmoved,” Finaeus observed.
“But where are the stealthed groups?” Rachel murmured.
Then scan detected them behind the Nietzscheans, as they opened fire on the enemy’s rear. Rachel signaled the forward elements of the fleet to begin their full assault as well, but not to use any kinetics. The battlespace around the Nietzscheans needed to remain as clear as possible.
More ships began to appear in the midst of the Nietzschean fleet. Not directly amongst the enemy, but as close as fifty thousand kilometers above and below the Nietzschean formations.
“Today’s precision jumping is brought to you by the QuanComm network,” Finaeus said with a laugh.
“How many blades did we burn up doing all this?” Rachel asked her engineer.
“You don’t want to know,” Finaeus replied.
Rachel disagreed with his sentiment, but if it was a critical level, he wouldn’t sound so cavalier. She glanced at the ancient terraformer. Or maybe he would.
Rachel agreed. Honestly, she would have burned them all up, if it meant saving Tanis.
“Scan, anything from the Derringer?”
“No, ma’am. We’ll not be able to see them with all the EM and crap out here.” The Scan officer was about to say something else, but his eyes widened. “Yes! They’re here!”
The holotank updated to show three massive ships in the battlespace. The Carthage, Canaan’s Sword, and the Starblade. Three Intrepid Class battle platforms, all with the same shields and weapons as the I2. One above Pyra, and the other two close to the main Nietzschean formation.
“Release the fighters.” Rachel ordered.
A hundred thousand fighters, though well over half were NSAI-controlled drones, swept out of the ISF ships and onto the battlespace.
But there was still no sign of the Derringer.
“Ma’am,” Scan called out. “I don’t see our ship, but the five Marauder-controlled vessels have broken off from the formation over Pyra. It looks like they’re chasing something.
Rachel closed her eyes and felt Finaeus’s hand on her shoulder.
“They have her,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
Bob spoke across the entire shipnet.
THE CARTHAGE
STELLAR DATE: 08.28.8949 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ISS Carthage, Bridge
REGION: Near Roma, New Canaan System
Arrayed around the new—and mostly complete—Intrepid Class starship were thousands of ISF vessels. As with the last major battle they’d fought, many of the ships were commanded by AIs and human skeleton crews, but he was confident it would be enough to win the day. At least, he hoped he appeared confident to his command crew.
Ahead of the Carthage, the jump gate came to life, negative energy coalescing in its center.
The New Canaan System only had one jump gate large enough for an Intrepid Class ship, so the others had been moved to Scipio and Silstrand. There, they too would be preparing to jump through gates left behind by the I2.
If it wasn’t for his sickening worry over Tanis, the maneuver they were about to perform would be filling him with glee.
Thanks to the QuanComm network, they were about to exercise the largest multi-point fleet jump in known history. Forty thousand ships leaping from a thousand jump gates spread across over a hundred stars were about to leap into a crowded battlespace around one world, thousands of light years away.
Someone had better write a song about this. A ballad; this is definitely epic ballad worthy.
Joe glanced at Cary and Saanvi, who were standing beside him, before giving the order. “Helm, take us in.”
“Aye, Admiral Evans. Taking us in.”
The Carthage eased forward, and its mirror touched the not-space, hurtling the ship across the light years.
Joe counted to three, and then the universe snapped back into place around them.
“Confirmed, Albany System!” Scan called out.
“Matching stellar galactic motion,” Helm announced, while Weapons confirmed that the stasis shield was online.
The holotank in the center of the bridge began to populate ships, trajectories, zones of fire, safe areas, and a hundred other notes and details, as the picture around the Carthage filled in.
He spotted the I2 drifting in a sea of radiation, and relief flooded him to see the great ship in one piece, though it must have weathered a brutal assault. Elements of Rachel’s fleet were hitting the Nietzschean ships from the rear, and all around, more and more allied vessels were appearing amidst the enemy.
None of that mattered to Joe. Somewhere, there would be a ship, the Derringer, and—stars-willing—that ship would have Tanis aboard.
He resisted the urge to ask Scan if they had seen it—he knew they would call out if so much as a hint of a stealthed ship was picked up by sensors.
“We have five Nietzschean vessels breaking off!” Scan called out. “They match the Marauder ships.”
Joe nodded silently. It was a good sign, but he wasn’t going to take an easy breath until he saw Tanis’s face.
“There!” one of the ensigns on scan yelled. “I registered it, for just a second, the Derringer was there.”
“Open the starboard A1 Dock doors,” Joe ordered, fighting to keep his voice steady. He glanced to his side and nodded to Cary and Saanvi. “Go.”
His daughters didn’t need to be told twice and ran off the bridge without a second glance. Joe wished he could go with them, but there was still work to be done.
Though much of the Nietzschean fleet was engaged with the ISF and allied forces, many of the enemy ships
were still close to Pyra, boosting out of the planet’s gravity well, directing their engine wash onto the world below.
As the enemy fled, they were burning the planet to a cinder.
Although the strength of the ISF and their allies nearly matched that of the Nietzscheans, only the Carthage was within range of the enemies boosting away from Pyra. It was on them to save the people below.
“Weapons, I want a full barrage, every beam we have. Take out the engines of as many Nietzschean ships as we can. Comm, broadcast to the people on the planet to get below ground if possible. S&R, I want orbital fire suppression ships deployed the minute approach vectors are clear. We’re going to save this planet.”
As the first plumes of plasma began to strike Pyra’s atmosphere, burning away clouds and ionizing the skies, he wondered if saving what was left of this decimated world would be harder than defeating the Nietzscheans.
* * * * *
Rika watched in awe as the Derringer was swallowed up by the massive ship. She’d docked in smaller space stations. Much smaller space stations.
The warship slid past hundreds of smaller craft, all of which appeared to be ready to disembark, but she couldn’t discern why. They didn’t appear to be military vessels of any sort.
“Fire suppression,” Captain Mel said, nodding to the ships Rika was scowling at.
“How do they lay down suppressive fire?” Rika asked, and Mel laughed.
“No. Woman, you say the strangest things. The Niets, they’ve made a mess of your world down there. Now they’re burning it as they boost out. Those ships are going to put out the fires that their engines make before they sweep across the entire globe. With luck, we can shift much of the radiation away from the planet, too…or at least get it to fall in the oceans, and not on land.”
Rika had never considered such an operation, and she was amazed to think that these people were going to risk their lives to save the Pyrans, while simultaneously fighting the Nietzscheans.
“You’re going to save the planet? Back in the….” Rika shook her head, she had to stop that thought pattern. “When we fought the Nietzscheans, they frequently used scorched world tactics. We never saved anyplace.”
“Well, you’ve got new allies, now,” Mel smiled. “Ones who care about people…even if their leadership is dumb as rocks. Your leadership, that is—not ours. Ah, look, your ships made it into the dock, too. Looks like they just got a few holes here and there. Nothing we won’t be able to patch up.”
Rika nodded silently. “If all is well, then, I’m going to go and join my company. Get ready for the search and rescue.”
Mel glanced at Rika, her cavalier attitude gone in an instant. “I understand. Good luck.”
A few minutes later, Rika stood on the Carthage’s dock, watching Chase and Barne drive across its vast surface in a dockcar, weaving in and out of cradles, loading towers, and gantries.
“OK…is it unreal to be in a dock that looks more like a city?” Leslie asked from Rika’s side.
“I don’t know, Leslie,” Rika said, then laughed for a moment. “I’ve totally lost all sense of scale.”
Leslie nodded for a moment. “You know…we always talked about taking the fight to the Niets…pushing them back from Praesepe, and then out of Genevia….”
Rika nodded. “But it always just felt like talk.”
“Yeah.” Leslie laughed. “It was flights of fancy, and we knew it. But this…”
“This.” Rika replied, as Chase and Barne leapt off the dockcar and ran toward them. “Unconditional victory sure feels nice.”
* * * * *
Cary and Saanvi raced down the Carthage’s dock, driving their dockcar toward the Derringer at break-neck speed. Cary half expected Saanvi to tell her to slow down, but when she slacked off the accelerator at one point, Saanvi pushed it all the way forward and held it there.
Ahead, they saw some of the mechs and humans, but Cary didn’t see her mother in the group and swerved around them, skidding to a halt at the base of the Derringer’s ramp.
“There!” Saanvi pointed, and Cary saw two pale figures appear at the airlock.
The first was easy to identify as Priscilla. The second was easy as well, but that didn’t make the sight any less shocking.
“Mom?” Cary whispered.
Their mother’s steps seemed sure as she walked down the long ramp, though Priscilla had a protective arm around her. Tanis was clothed in a simple white shipsuit, over which a blanket was draped, hiding her arms.
She was safe, she was right there in front of them.
Cary wanted to touch her mother over the Link, to demand confirmation that everything was OK, but something stopped her. Something about the indomitable Tanis Richards seemed wrong. There was a strange look in her eyes, as though she were unsure of what she saw around herself.
Priscilla and Tanis reached the bottom of the ramp and stopped before Cary and Saanvi.
Their mother’s skin was alabaster white, as though it had never spent a day in the sun; perfect and unblemished, like she was fresh out of rejuv.
Tanis winked at Cary before turning to Saanvi, her perfect lips curling up in a smile as her right arm slipped from the blanket to pull Saanvi into a tight embrace.
Cary felt like every nerve in her body was vibrating and she wanted to ask her mother what was wrong, why she hadn’t spoken. Is she injured?
Priscilla appeared calm, so Cary took a deep breath and waited for her turn. A moment later, their mother released Saanvi and turned to Cary. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, as though unsure of what she was looking at. Then Tanis reached out her other hand and stroked Cary’s cheek.
Cary almost missed the fact that her mother’s left arm was flesh and blood, though she completely forgot that observation when Tanis spoke to her.
“Faleena, my dear, you’re so beautiful.”
THE END
* * * * *
The war has spread over a hundred fronts, battles erupting across the stars. Tanis has become something more, and her most trusted ally may have been playing a far deeper game than she’d ever imagined.
Find out what happens next in the
War on a Thousand Fronts
THANK YOU
If you’ve enjoyed reading Attack on Thebes, a review on Amazon.com and/or goodreads.com would be greatly appreciated.
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M. D. Cooper
THE BOOKS OF AEON 14
Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free Aeon 14 Reading Guide.
The Intrepid Saga
- Book 1: Outsystem
- Book 2: A Path in the Darkness
- Book 3: Building Victoria
- The Intrepid Saga Omnibus – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series
- Destiny Rising – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.
The Orion War
- Book 1: Destiny Lost
- Book 2: New Canaan
- Book 3: Orion Rising
- Book 4: The Scipio Alliance
- Book 5: Attack on Thebes
- Book 6: The Thousand Front War (2018)
- Book 7: Fallen Empire (2018)
- Many more following
Tales of the Orion War
- Book 1: Set the Galaxy on Fire
- Book 2: Ignite the Stars (Feb 2018)
- Book 3: Burn the Galaxy to Ash (2018)
Perilous Alliance (Age of the Orion War - with Chris J. Pike)
- Book 1: Close Proximity
- Book 2: Strike Vector
- Book 3: Collision Course
- Book 4: Impact Imminent (April 2018)
Rika’s Marauders (Age of the
Orion War)
- Prequel: Rika Mechanized
- Book 1: Rika Outcast
- Book 2: Rika Redeemed
- Book 3: Rika Triumphant
- Book 4: Rika Commander (April 2018)
- Book 5: Rika Unleashed (2018)
Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)
Season 1: Orion Space
- Episode 1: The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star
- Episode 2: The World at the Edge of Space
- Episode 3: The Dance on the Moons of Serenity
- Episode 4: The Last Bastion of Star City
- Episode 5: The Toll Road Between the Stars
- Episode 6: The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm
- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: The Trail Through the Stars
- Eps 4-6 Omnibus: The Path Amongst the Clouds
Season 2: The Inner Stars
- Episode 1: A Meeting of Bodies and Minds (Feb 2018)
- Episode 2: A Surreptitious Rescue of Friends and Foes (2018)
- More coming in 2018
The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: The Woman Without a World
- Book 2: The Woman Who Seized an Empire
- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything (March 2018)
The Sentience Wars: Origins (With James S. Aaron)
- Book 1: Lyssa’s Dream
- Book 2: Lyssa’s Run
- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flight
- Book 4: Lyssa’s Call (2018)
- Book 5: Lyssa’s Flame (2018)
Machete System Bounty Hunter (Age of the Orion War - with Zen DiPietro)
- Book 1: Hired Gun (Feb 2018)
- Book 2: Gunning for Trouble (2018)
- Book 3: With Guns Blazing (2018)
The Empire (Age of the Orion War)
- The Empress and the Ambassador (2018)
- Consort of the Scorpion Empress (2018)
- By the Empress’s Command (2018)
