by Jason Kent
“Bad…” Ian said. “Wait, just how bad is ‘bad’ when we’re talking about the core?”
“We’ll be space vapor in a few minutes,” Ghost said.
“Okay,” Ian said, “so, very bad.”
USS Saratoga
Jupiter Space
“Reagan is under increasing fire,” Growler reported, “Five ships are attacking the base and there are one, no two, ranging after satellites and some civilian ships.”
“Fire full barrage,” Mitchell said, “try and take some heat off the base.” He watched the rail guns mounted amid-ship as they began cycling back and forth, pumping out slug after slug at lethal speeds.
“Sir, at our current velocity, we’ll only get one pass at the enemy ships,” Osprey noted.
Mitchell considered the tactical display for a moment before pulling out a light pen. He outlined his plan with a few bold strokes on his display board which were automatically transferred onto the main view screen. “Steer right into the center mass of their formation. We’ll initiate a pitch and full breaking maneuver as we pass.”
Osprey saw what the Colonel had in mind and a wide grin split his face. “Yes, sir.”
Reagan Space Corps Base / SOF Ops Cell
Europa
“Earth defenses are holding their own,” Yates said.
“Where’s Ian?” Jennifer asked.
Yates took a moment to scan the local display then used a laser pointed to show Jennifer the icon for Reaper 16. “They boosted away from the other ships after making a kill.”
“Are they damaged?” Jennifer asked.
Yates turned to Williams. “Raise Reaper 16, see what their status is.”
Williams nodded and sat at an empty console.
“Saratoga’s pulling the heat off Reagan,” Yates noted.
Jennifer cocked her head and noticed for the first time the base was being hit much less frequently.
“They aren’t responding,” Williams said. “I’ve diverted another Reaper to intercept.”
“Good,” Yates said. “Be sure the Ops Floor sees those two other ships trying to close on targets on Jupiter’s far side. The Brits should be able to handle them.”
“Are we winning?” Jennifer asked as yet another blue icon flashed and died.
“It’s going to be close,” Yates answered quietly.
USS Saratoga
Jupiter Space
Rail guns and lasers firing continuously, Saratoga bore down on the enemy vessels harassing Reagan Space Corps Base.
“One enemy vessel destroyed…four targets remaining!” Growler reported. “They’ve stopped firing on the base.”
“Good,” Mitchell said.
“All fire is now concentrated on us,” Growler clarified.
“Great,” Mitchell grunted as the OCSU rolled his spacecraft hard to starboard
“We’re on track for the four targets,” Growler said as the ship began to shake violently.
“Go manual and prep for hard pitch,” Mitchell said.
“Yes, sir,” Osprey said. He tapped a few keys and looked to a wide-eyed 1Lt Hodges in the pilot seat. When Hodges gave a quick nod back to Osprey, the DO called out, “Ready!”
Mitchell waited for two heartbeats, all the while watching the enemy ships grow larger, before shouting, “Now!”
Osprey initiated the sequence. “Hang on!”
The Saratoga fired her massive attitude control thrusters fore and aft. Rounds slammed into the ship’s underside as she pitched over hard. Half way through the turn, the opposite thrusters fired, stopping the wild end-over-end maneuver.
Mitchell grinned as he watched the feeds from Saratoga’s rear cameras. They showed the enemy ships grow bright in the light of his ship’s flaring exhaust.
Moving too fast to stop and not reacting fast enough to respond, all four ships went nova. The intense furnace of the Saratoga’s engines melted the alloy of the ships outer hulls then flashed the water inside the habitable sections. The engine cores exploded as their containment fields simply ceased to exist.
“Tactical?” Mitchell asked, still staring at the main display as four explosions blended into one then faded.
“Uh,” Growler began, taking a moment to recover. He tapped his control board, and said, “Sir, targets have been destroyed.”
“Thank God,” Mitchell breathed, lowering his head.
“Special Forces managed to destroy a good number of the attacking ships as they came out of the wormholes,” Growler said. “Most of the rest have been destroyed in ship-to-ship fighting. There are only three left in Earth Space and they appear to be damaged. We have the other two in Jupiter Space. The Sterling is engaging right now.”
“What’s the score over all?” Osprey asked.
Growler took a moment to double check the numbers on his display and muttered, “This can’t be right.”
“What can’t be right?” Mitchell said.
“Sorry, sir,” Tac said. “It’s the IFF count.” The IFF, Identify Friend or Foe system, showed the current status of all friendly spacecraft in Near Space.
Mitchell’s stomach dropped. “What’s the count?”
Growler turned to face the Colonel. “Sir, we lost more than two thirds of our ships.”
“Most of Earth’s defenses are gone,” Osprey added, checking the numbers. He looked up and said, “Including Hornet.”
“Check it again,” Mitchell said, straining against his harness.
“Sir, I just…”
“Check it again,” Mitchell said. As his tactical officer went back to his board, Mitchell turned to the rest of the bridge crew. “I want damage reports and status of all systems…now. Nav, get us a heading to assist Sterling’s group.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Osprey,” Mitchell said.
“Sir,” his second in command replied.
“Take over damage control and make ready the ship for action.”
“Yes sir.” Osprey gave a smart salute then released his harness so he could drift between the twelve bridge stations. “All right, give it to me.”
Reports from throughout the ship started pouring in.
Mitchell turned to the communications station. “Prep a TACREP; Enemy ships in Jupiter Space destroyed or are engaged. All U.S. spacecraft prepare for possible second wave attack.”
The Comm Officer looked up after typing the last line of the Tactical Report. “Second wave, sir?”
“Send it out and get me a link with the Century commanders.”
Osprey had made the initial triage of the battle damaged, issued the orders to prioritize repairs and made sure the weapons were still on line. He made his way to stand beside Mitchell and together they watched the bridge crew working through the after-action details.
In a low voice, Osprey asked, “You know something we don’t know, sir?”
“Just don’t want to be caught with my pants down, Mr. Osprey,” Mitchell answered in the same quiet tone. “We can’t afford another victory like this.”
“I’d agree with that,” Osprey breathed, taking in the gaping holes in the human defense lines on the tactical display.
“Grav anomalies!” Growler shouted.
Mitchell and Osprey looked over at the tactical station.
Growler turned to face the command station. “We’ve got incoming!”
“That was quick,” Mitchell grunted. “Nav, bring us around. Weapons, fire on whatever you get the first lock on.”
“Rail turrets loaded…” Weapons taped a few keys, “targets in two minutes.”
“Tactical, report,” Mitchell said, watching as the main screen filled up fast with new icons.
“Ten, eleven, now fifteen alien vessels in Jupiter Space! Twenty one enemy ships just appeared in Earth Space…make that forty two!”
“Are we getting double readings from the quantum communications system, Comm?” Mitchell asked.
Comm was shaking her head, tears in her eyes. “No, sir, quantum’s working fine.”
“Eight more out of the Jovian Cluster…they’re closing on our position!” Growler shouted.
“Offensive Laser Systems are in range and engaging,” Weapons said.
From the tactical station, Growler called out a few seconds later, “One ship damaged by long range OLS shots!”
“It’s not enough,” Osprey breathed, pulling himself back into his chair.
Mitchell ignored his DO and said, “Full speed ahead, Nav.” He imagined the battle would be over soon enough for him and his ship against the vastly superior force. But he certainly was not going to go out lightly. “Osprey, hit them with everything we’ve got. They came a long way for a fight. Let’s not disappoint them.”
Reagan Space Corps Base / SOF Ops Cell
Europa
“What’s that?” Jennifer asked as soft alarms began going off around the SOC.
“Multiple readings in Earth and Jupiter Space,” Williams reported. “Looks like a second wave.”
Yates looked up at the main displays.
Jennifer watched as more and more red icons appeared. “Why are there so many?”
“Because they want to finish the job,” Yates said.
Jennifer found Ian’s ship again and locked her eyes on it. She breathed, “Get out of there, Ian.”
Yates moved beside Jennifer. He put an arm protectively around her shoulder and said, “I’m not sure anywhere is safe, Jennifer.”
Reaper 16
Jupiter Space
“Where are all these guys coming from?” Ghost said as he stared at the main display.
“That’s just not fair,” Ian said as he took in the swelling ranks of newly arriving ships.
“It’s like ten-to-one,” Ghost said.
“Can we get our weapons back on-line?” Ian asked “Nada,” Ghost said as he checked his control board. “Offensive lasers are broke hard – power distro system is fried.”
“Rail?”
“Now that I can probably fix,” Ghost said pulling up a schematic. “A little bypass here, clear the feed-line there, some TLC…”
“How long?”
“Half hour minimum,” Ghost said, blowing out a long breath.
“Crud,” Ian said, “The ship’ll tear itself apart by then.”
“They’re at Earth,” Ghost said as he studied his monitor.
On the tactical display, the handful of U.S. defenders left in Earth Space were forming up around the Enterprise. A group of British and European Space Agency ships had joined together and were striking an enemy formation twice their size. A Chinese defense station in geostationary orbit got a single shot off before being destroyed while the big guns of the American station at the Earth-Moon L5 point managed to take out three ships before going silent under an onslaught of return fire. Jupiter space was faring little better as a group of twenty-four Soosuri ships was advancing toward Europa.
Ian clenched his fist and thought furiously. Both humanity’s home on Earth and his home on Jupiter’s moon, where his wife waited for him, were in danger and he was helpless to respond.
“You sure about the core?” Ian asked.
“Computer doesn’t lie…usually,” Ghost said thumping his control console for emphasis. “Our containment is fluctuating – that hit damaged our solid-state shield. The active magnetic fields are compensating, barely, but they’re running on back-up power. The batteries will be sucked dry before we could get any help.”
“So…yes,” Ian said.
“Reaper 16’s history. She just won’t admit it.”
“Then Reaper 16’s crew needs a plan.”
Reagan Space Corps Base / SOF Ops Cell
Europa
Jennifer turned to Yates. “What are we going to do?”
“What we always do,” Yates said, flexing his jaw muscles. “We fight.”
“So many,” Jennifer murmured. It was hard to distinguish all the new ships from the background stars in the electro-optical images. She gasped as one of the human ships exploded in a brilliant fireball. “Ian?”
“No,” Yates said, double-checking the read-outs.
“Our SOF posts were able to place a few mines,” Williams reported.
“Blow ‘em,” the General ordered.
Sixteen ships exploded on the displays of Jupiter and Earth Space.
Within the span of ten seconds, twelve green icons disappeared.
Williams swore under his breath. “They found some of the teams.”
Yates nodded. “Tell the rest of them to lay low unless they have a solid target of opportunity.”
“Got anything else up your sleeve?” Jennifer asked.
“Maybe.”
Jennifer nodded at the swirling battles overhead. “Will it be enough?”
“Let’s just say it couldn’t hurt at this point,” Yates said.
The base rocked as the attack was renewed.
Jennifer was thrown painfully against a console and hung on until the ground stopped shaking. “I’d be happy if your magic bag could at least take care of the ships trying to kill us.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Yates said, smiling at Jennifer. He turned to Williams and said, “Activate the Vampires.”
Special Forces Post 32
Earth Space
Staff Sergeant Howie Bealeman, Marine Reconnaissance, sat at the cramped control console of his C-8S. Bealeman shifted his bulk in the small space, trying for the thousandth time to get comfortable and failing. He considered his options. He had already successfully planted two mines on ships which had exited the wormhole he had been watching for the past two weeks.
He had the option of detonating the bombs himself, but was happy to let the Cell back on Europa pull the trigger. His one-man stealth ship did not offer nearly enough insight of the strategic picture throughout the rest of the solar system for him to make such a call. Bealeman also did not want to be the one to blow up an alien vessel which had just stopped by to say hello.
Watching where the last ship had exploded, Bealeman assumed the reports from the Cell and other posts were correct: humanity was under attack again and the leadership was fighting back with everything they had.
One of the tricks Yates and the Special Ops Force crew had worked out were the mines Bealeman and other SOF troops were set to deploy as soon as any ship left a wormhole. Launched from spring-loaded tubes, the mines were pushed toward the unsuspecting ships. When they were close enough, powerful magnets attached the device to the hulls. Once there, they could be detonated at will.
With both of his mines expended, Bealeman could either sit out the rest of the fight or try to help in some small way. He reread the last order from the Cell and was not sure he would be presented with any other targets. Bealeman glanced back to where the wormhole hung invisible to the naked eye. Only gravimetric readings told him its exact location. He’d been lucky to catch two ships coming out. He doubted a third wave would be on the way, which left only one option.
“I need to find me a solid target,” Bealeman said. There was no way he was going to sit things out while Earth was fighting for its survival within sight.
He tapped his control board and started after the other alien ships which had come through the same wormhole, now just bright dots from their engines as they thrusted for Earth hanging in space before him.
“Wait for me,” Bealeman said, “I may be out of mines, but what I do have is plenty of ammo for the rail gun.” He activated his engines and felt the reassuring pressure build as his velocity steadily increased.
USS Saratoga
Jupiter Space
“The Arrows are sprinting back for a pass,” Osprey reported.
“Call everything in Jupiter Space to our position,” Mitchell said as his ship rocked from missiles impacting the armor.
“We got six harassing Reagan,” Growler said. “The rest are coming our way.”
“They just got the Providence,” Osprey noted. “Not very sporting to pick on a civvie.”
Mitchell nod
ded. The Providence was a heavy transport which plied the Earth-Jupiter route. A civilian ship, it carried no weapons.
“Whoa,” Osprey said, “Take a look at that.”
Looking up, Mitchell saw the focus of the DO’s awe. The latest arrival was a huge Soosuri vessel easily five times the mass as the largest enemy ship they had encountered to date.
“Looks like we have a new primary target,” Mitchell breathed.
Human Near Space
Oort Cloud Translation Point
“The gathering is complete,” Reyan said.
Tra’laan nodded but said nothing.
“We must intervene,” Reyan added. He gestured at the holo-projection. “The Soosuri are pursuing a particularly aggressive attack against this species.”
“The humans need more time,” Tra’laan said.
“They cannot win this fight,” Reyan stated.
“Victory on the battlefield is not the lesson I mean to teach the humans, brother.”
Reaper 16
Jupiter Space
“They don’t have a chance,” Ghost muttered as the defenders in Earth Space were swept aside one-by-one.
“We have to do something,” Ian said. “Saratoga and Reagan are getting pummeled.”
“Yeah,” Ghost said. “We’ve been over this. No weapons and we’ve got about six minutes.”
Ian took control of the Reaper’s controls and pointed the bow back toward the flashes of the battle raging around Europa. “Then let’s take a few with us.”
“I hear you, sir, but I don’t know if we can make it back in time” Ghost said. He snapped his fingers. “Wait, I have an idea.”
“Make it a quick one,” Ian said.
“Take a look,” Ghost said, tilting his control board for Ian to see.
“EJ437? But that takes us…” Ian pulled up the catalog entry for the wormhole Ghost proposed to use.
“Mmhmm,” Ghost hummed.
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Thought you might like that,” Ghost said, not taking his eyes from the frantic programming he was performing on his control board. “EJ437 drops us within a few thousand klicks of one of the enemy concentrations approaching L5.”
