The Alpha Choice

by M. D. Hall

  He turned his attention to his ship. The anticipated attack would come within minutes. The darts were ready for launch with their pilots at battle readiness. The information imparted to him concerning the Tellurians, suggested they would seek to modify the weaponry they had managed to reactivate. He hoped that was correct, otherwise the imminent encounter would be very short, indeed. Darl had no doubts concerning the outcome, but wanted his young pilots to have some bragging rights upon their return home. He had no intention of letting Garnoth know when the engagement had begun. The Avatar would know, and relay the information to its master.

  Ω

  Within moments of leaving Darl's ready room, Garnoth was in his own stateroom, addressing Tala on a secure channel.

  Ω

  The image in the hologram once again became Garnoth. ‘This is a secure channel for your ears only, and of course Beron, who has seen fit to join you.’ A palpable chill coursed through every Tellurian present. Garnoth continued to speak as though they did not exist or were of no consequence, because they would soon cease to exist. He looked at Beron. ‘Where is the girl?’

  Beron’s reply was hesitant. ‘There was an accident.’

  Tala arched her eyebrows.

  Garnoth pressed him. ‘A fatal accident?’

  ‘Yes.’

  The smile from Garnoth’s last appearance was replaced by a frown. ‘Are you certain it was an accident?

  ‘There is no doubt,’ Beron replied.

  ‘Then our plans are not derailed. Before her death, did she say who assisted her?’

  ‘No, it happened too quickly and her death was instantaneous,’ the frown on Garnoth’s face darkened.

  ‘But,’ Beron hastily added, ‘Hugo Black has since informed me that he had help.’

  Garnoth’s smile returned. ‘Perhaps all is not lost,’ looking now at Tala. ‘Either the girl, or her friends were able to infiltrate our systems. One of them has admitted to receiving help, and it is reasonable to conclude this may provide the best evidence yet of the rebel faction.’

  Tala interjected. ‘You think they might have had direct contact?’

  ‘My dear,’ Garnoth replied, ‘most of what we deal in is rumour and conjecture. The contact may have been indirect, but the link may still lead us to the wellspring of the rebellion. Bring Black and the injured Tellurian with you, there is no need for niceties, they will die either on board, or when you send them home.’

  Tala looked at Beron who immediately walked over to the injured man, took his good arm and held it fast. He then steered Jon to a point midway between the door they had all just filed through and Hugo, effectively blocking the latter’s exit. To escape using the other door, he would have to pass Tala, not that Hugo had any intention of escaping. The spirit within the room was such that no one attempted to stop Beron, not even the Secret Service.

  Without waiting for a response the image of Garnoth was gone and the hologram returned to a view of the ships above them.

  Δ

  President Conway recovered some of his composure. He looked to the displays on the wall, and each of the grim-faced leaders nodded. Moving his gaze to Tala, he leaned over to the intercom, pressed a button and spoke into it: ‘General Fitzsimmons, this is the President, divert all defenders to confront our visitors…this is not a drill.’ Through the speaker on the intercom was heard the reply. ‘Very well, Mister President.’

  All eyes turned to the hologram floating above them. Within moments thirty-six sleek, silvered ships came into view. They travelled in an inverted ‘V’ formation, but as they approached the three waiting Te’an ships, the formation changed to a three dimensional, four-pointed star and the reason soon became apparent. Lines of energy flowed from each of the smaller ships, connecting them in a lattice of light.

  The official fitting of the ships had been carried out by TeCorp, and Hugo had inspected them often enough in the construction hangers, so he knew they were each half as long again as a transatlantic jet, with a compliment of thirty-six crew members. Yet, next to the Te’an warships, they were dwarfed. Each of the invading ships was forty times the length of the Earth vessels, presupposing they were of the same order of magnitude as the ship he had first been shown, they may have been even bigger.

  The President addressed Tala. ‘We will defend ourselves. Ask your ships to leave, or we will be forced to fire upon you.’

  ‘With the ships we gave you? The ships with disabled weaponry? That was not very trusting.’ She had, of course diverted considerable resources to ensure that she was kept up to date with the work done by the Tellurians to restore the weaponry, and knew they had been successful, but intelligence was sketchy when it came to the extent of their success. Accomplishing anything so advanced as conjoined energy weapons, surprised and impressed her.

  The President was unfazed by her response, choosing not to elaborate on the reasons for the restoration. ‘You leave us with no choice.’ Speaking once again into the intercom, he gave the command to fire upon the Te’an ships.

  The Earth formation approached the invaders, and the lattice grew brighter until it became incandescent. A beam of white light flashed towards the nearest Te’an ship, Eclipse. It was impossible to identify the source within the formation, although Jon thought it came from the front ship. The curved, protective field around the larger ship was highlighted by the incoming beam and for a moment held firm, then slowly it began to buckle inwards towards the ship’s hull. Within seconds the field would give out altogether.

  The remaining Te’an vessels had been initially subdued, as though surprised by the boldness and effectiveness of the strike, they now opened fire upon their attackers.

  The beams stopped short of the star. The formation not only augmented the firepower of the Earth ships, it reinforced their protective fields. Despite the Te’an onslaught, the field held and the formation continued to hammer at its target. Hugo tore his eyes from the encounter in space and looked at Tala. Notwithstanding the superior firepower of the Te’an ships, she was looking distinctly uncomfortable. Perhaps, he thought, she didn’t expect matters to take this turn or is it something else, nothing to do with what’s happening up there?

  The President, buoyed by the achievement of the Earth Defenders, decided to answer Tala’s earlier question. ‘You provided us with the technology. We tested it, and found we could restore, and even augment the weaponry. To create a system like that is far beyond anything we’re capable of, but our people here and our friends in China found it relatively simple to work on the systems already in place. After everything you told us about the dangers beyond our solar system, we thought it better to be prepared, we just didn't think we would have to use it against you.’

  Hugo wondered how this had been kept from him, but brought himself back into line, if it works, there’ll be plenty of time for recriminations, and if it doesn’t…

  Tala presented the President with a half smile. ‘I’m impressed with your persistence, you could be Te’an. Under different circumstances, I actually believe we could have worked together.’

  His reply was short and to the point. ‘I thought we were working together,’ he looked at Hugo with an expression that, in a split second conveyed all the regret and guilt he felt, before returning his attention to the Te’an agent, ‘but don’t fool yourself, we are nothing alike.’

  Everyone in that room, other than the Te, was afraid to express the hope that coursed through them all as they watched the shields of the Te’an warship finally punctured. But as soon as the shield failed it was replaced by another, and everything was back as it was, or almost everything. The Earth ships could not be expected to maintain the energy output, and so it proved.

  Under the continued barrage from the Te’an ships, the star’s incandescence rapidly began to fail. The formation broke, just as its defensive fields were about to collapse, and the thirty-six ships sped apart. For the moment the larger ships had nothing to fire upon, but Jon wondered how long the little ships woul
d be able to hold out against the larger, more powerful invaders.

  ‘Didn’t you wonder how it was possible to restore systems we had disabled? Remember, we are fully aware of your level of technical expertise, and its limitations,’ Tala taunted.

  Just as the penny dropped in the mind of the President, the attention of both of them snapped back to the hologram as a collective gasp was heard from some of the observers.

  Each of the Te’an warships had found a target, and three of the Defenders each faced a monumental energy beam. Without an augmented defensive field, it was obvious a single Earth ship would not be able to withstand the onslaught for long and sure enough, almost simultaneously their fields buckled, before totally failing. Instantly, the three vessels were consumed in a blinding light and were no more, but while the Te’an ships were concentrating their fire upon these three Defenders, their companions had scattered between the larger ships.

  No sooner had the three ships flared out of existence, than the remainder opened fire upon the Te, like gnats annoying much larger animals they hit and moved on. The huge Te’an ships appeared incapable of any effective response and it appeared to Jon, that the tactic was having some effect, although the damage to the Te’an energy fields had to be minimal. How long the smaller ships would be able to keep up their dangerous game of hit and run, was anyone’s guess.

  Long minutes went by, then multiple beams began to emanate from the larger ships. Six Defenders were hit, flashes heralding their destruction. The Te rather than continuing to fire, moved away from their foes and also from each other, at astonishing speeds.

  The hologram zoomed outwards, enabling those watching to keep all ships in view. The three Te’an ships were now in a triangular formation with the smaller ships within the boundaries of the triangle. From one of the giant ships a smaller vessel, still many times the size of a Defender, was launched. When it was positioned so as to convert the triangle into a pyramid, it stopped. Beams were emitted from the four huge ships, forming a lattice of interconnecting energy. Within each side of the four sided pyramid were multiple smaller triangles, constantly changing position.

  Two Defenders tried to escape through a gap in the energy lattice only to be destroyed when the lines of energy shifted. It dawned on the reluctant observers that it was impossible to pass through what was, effectively a solid energy barrier. For the Earth ships, hope was rapidly diminishing, and the Te’ans were not yet done with them.

  Ω

  Darl had spoken to Tala from his position on the bridge, so that all his officers heard his instructions concerning the future of Telluria. As anticipated, the hybrid Defenders were launched within three minutes of him speaking to Garnoth. He gazed at the image floating in the centre of the circular room. It showed the Eclipse’s sister ships, as well as the thirty-six Defenders approaching from the otherwise helpless planet below.

  ‘Gorn, any answers?’

  ‘I’m afraid not, sir. I can’t trace the source of the power failure anywhere on the ship.’

  ‘Any likelihood of it happening again? Never mind, if you don’t know what caused it, you can’t say it won’t happen again. Forget that for now and concentrate on your battle duties.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  Darl admired the bravery of the young men and women who piloted the smaller craft. They must have known their cause was hopeless, yet still they came. He wondered, for just a moment, how his pilots would react against insuperable forces then quickly buried any doubts and returned to the task in hand.

  His science officer, Gorn, confirmed that the approaching ships had an amended weapons configuration, and displayed the disposition of their armaments within the holo-sphere. They had not only re-enabled the weapons systems, which was expected, but had increased their firepower by a considerable factor. Darl was impressed, but what struck him even more was that they had enhanced the facility of combining their energy beams, used with some effect against the asteroid. Unlike the asteroid incident, the whole now vastly exceeded the sum of their parts. While this was a capability of all Te’an warships, beyond the dart class, it had been disabled in the Tellurian ships to such an extent it was believed impossible for the Tellurians to reinstate it. He felt a pang of disappointment that they had met, and were about to destroy a race with ingenuity equal to their own. Darl did not consider this to be an emotional response on his part, he simply regretted that his foes lacked the weaponry to make this a true battle. The reconfiguration would make the task more difficult, but also more interesting. His XO made a suggestion. ‘Commander, shall I signal Quasar and Nova to reposition themselves, in readiness to deploy the energy cage?’

  ‘No, let’s see what our friends have in mind. I would like to see whether their tactical ability matches their engineering prowess.’

  Kirion nodded his acquiescence.

  Darl looked around his officers, knowing they would consider his tactic to be cruel, preferring the relatively quick solution afforded by the energy cage. When the time was right he would deploy the cage, but he was too experienced to ignore the rule that tactics can be learned from an inferior foe. The Tellurians would lose this battle because of their inferior weaponry and not, necessarily, because of their strategy. The Academy still taught battle tactics gleaned from the warrior clans, fifteen thousand years ago. Let’s see whether they have any surprises for us, he thought.

  He watched as the Tellurians approached on a delta formation, then reformed before concentrating their energy through the forward ship. ‘Drall, reduce the power to our shields, and have the secondary shield on standby.’ His weapons officer acted immediately, and no sooner had she done so than the Defender ships unleashed the enhanced power of their energy beams at Eclipse.

  Darl saw, rather than felt the effect of the attack. As long as the shields held, no energy would be transmitted to the ship, and unless his crew saw what was happening, they would be totally unaware of the assault. Of course, when under battle orders all personnel aboard a warship would either have access to a communal holo-sphere, or a personal retinal link to the ship’s computer, and would know what was taking place outside.

  He gave the order for all ships to open fire, but with only limited power. In response to the unasked question of his officers, he replied. ‘If we unleash maximum fire-power, the conflict will be over before any of you will have had an opportunity to savour true battle, watch and learn!’

  ‘Trang, what do you anticipate our foes will do next?’

  Without taking her eyes from the scene unfolding before them, the young officer replied. ‘Sir, they will seek to draw our fire on their lead ship, then use their main force in a flanked assault upon us.’

  ‘Primary shields are failing and are about to be replaced by the secondary shield, sir,’ reported Drall.

  Darl nodded, but said nothing as he awaited further elucidation from Trang, who obliged. ‘They will concentrate their fire upon this ship, perceiving us to be the most vulnerable and hoping they have inflicted damage upon us. If we are crippled, or better still destroyed, it will unnerve our remaining ships.’

  ‘Then let’s see if you’re correct,’ he replied.

  No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Kirion spoke up. ‘Sir, all but the lead ship have broken off and have begun to direct individual fire at us.’

  Darl smiled at Trang. ‘It seems you were correct,’ then addressing Drall, he issued the command. ‘Return fire and initiate energy cage protocol.’

  What followed was carnage. The attacking vessels began to be destroyed, first the lead ship and two others, then several minutes later, another six.

  Once the energy cage was constructed, destroying two of the Tellurian ships, and effectively imprisoning the remainder, the order was given for the launch of darts from all vessels. Six hundred single-seater fighters were released onto the hapless Tellurians. The battle, if it ever was that, would be over in minutes.

  A thought occurred to him. ‘Kirion, where is our young hero?’ />
  His XO knew the question concerned the dart pilot, Genir, who had been given his own squadron of eighteen darts, in quiet recognition of a job well done. ‘Leading the attack on one of the Defenders, sir. The Tellurian is without weapons.’

  The commander nodded. He knew how Genir’s father had reacted at Gallsor, but I think his boy is made of sterner stuff. Turning his attention to the stricken Defender and the approaching darts, he frowned as the lead dart slowed then stopped without firing weapons; the rest of the squadron following suit. Darl watched in amazement as this microcosm of the battle seemed content to let war wage, while it sat things out. The Defender made no attempt to escape and, in return, the darts made no attempt to destroy it. Darl turned from the holo image and strode towards his ready room. ‘Kirion, with me!’

  Once out of the sight, and hearing of his junior officers, Darl spun around to face his XO, ‘What is the boy playing at?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ his second in command replied, ‘perhaps he’s waiting for a direct order?’

  Darl was bemused, his face taking on a look, which in any other circumstances would have been comical. ‘You can’t be serious? Their orders are clear, destroy the enemy. What doesn’t he understand?’ He paced the room, then waved at the holo image, ‘Go ahead, give him a direct order.’

  Ω

  As he homed in on the target, Genir’s thoughts kept dragging him back to the eve of his academy induction, and what his father told him. This was no Gallsor and he was not his father, but he could not do this. Where his father received a medal, he would receive a prison sentence, or worse. He pictured his parents as they saw him off on his maiden voyage aboard Eclipse, will they understand? How long ago was it he imagined fame and adulation for the asteroid intervention? It isn’t too late to turn back…but he knew that to be a lie. The Defender was no longer capable of defending anything. What’s going through their minds, I’ll bet they’re no older than me? I can’t stop the rest, but I can make a difference. He slowed his ship, knowing the rest of his squadron would follow his lead; they would have no idea why he was doing this, but they were loyal officers, unlike me.