by Don Foxe
“Besides the surface, and platform-based weapons, a dozen Rys’ military spaceships with lasers are available. Add the 109 and Demon, and you know our defensive and offensive capabilities.”
“We can push a platform further into space, and continue to blast the wormhole with the tachyon cannon. This will prevent anyone from entering the system for another week,” Yauni said. “If we use your ships, we can continue until the gate is at a distance the Zenge will not consider worth the effort.”
“Or not,” Gregory said.
“I don’t understand,” Yauni replied.
“We know, from experience, the Zenge can create wormholes,” Gregory told Yauni. “If they cannot access a current gate, they might try creating one. Such an action could come anytime, and anyplace.”
“You want them to attack now,” Tasha said.
Coop answered. “Yes, while the PT-109 is on site, and everyone is ready. Being able to dictate the time and location for a battle means control over major advantages, which might not happen again. Add the surprises of the 109 on site, and the tachyon cannons in place. Enticing them to attack now outweighs waiting to see if they create a wormhole.”
“You will place my entire world at risk,” Yauni argued.
Cooper nodded. “Your world is already at risk. We are providing you the opportunity to fight while the odds are in your favor. But it is your world, Yauni. We’ve delivered the cannons, and we can negotiate an alliance. We can trade, or barter for crystals, or leave without them. Whether you take the odds, and accept the risk, is your decision.”
“What do you think the Zenge will do?” Yauni asked.
Gregory answered. “If it were me, I’d send drones until one popped through. If it was not fired upon, it would indicate the wormhole gate was too far for your plasma weapons to hit it. Then I would throw everything I have at you. Partly because it’s how they operate anyway, but mainly because you’ve been pissing them off.”
“My opinion is let them in sooner than later,” Coop added. “The less space between us, the less time they have to detect the addition of tachyon cannons, or discover the PT-109.”
Going old school, Cooper used items on the table as visual representations.
“I’d park our ships far enough away, scans wouldn’t detect them. You allow their ships within range of your surface-based cannons. When you open up with everything you now have, we’d close from the rear. Hammer and anvil.”
“Even if we defeat them, what would stop them from coming back later, after you are gone?” Yauni asked.
“Nothing,” Coop conceded. “But they fight from strength. While they are willing to sacrifice themselves, they don’t appear eager to die. We kicked their butts out of our solar system, and they haven’t been back. When we do the same here, they’ll reconsider invading Rys, and hit other, less defended, targets in the galaxy. They would justify staying away as an opportunity to develop greater strength. Retreat now, and return after the easier targets are taken. Providing time for us to mount a counteroffensive.”
Tasha Korr interjected, “I am a diplomat, not a military strategist, but Captain Cooper’s plan makes the most sense. I would strongly advise Rys to take advantage of its current position, and send a strong message to the Zenge. Rys is not to be trifled with.”
The Lisza Kaugh prince rose from the table. “I will take this to my father. It is ultimately his decision. I am sure he will consult his generals and senators, but in the end he must choose our course. If he asks, I am in agreement with Captain Cooper and Colonel Anton.”
Cooper escorted Yauni and Tasha to the door.
He closed the door, and addressed those remaining.
“Genna and Kennedy, decide what details you need to address, then delegate to crew members any systems with the slightest potential of taking time from your priorities. Anton, prep your Marines. We may need to take a ship, or repel invading troops on the moons, the space platforms, or the planet. You need to be ready to deploy and engage enemy combatants at any of the five locations. Elie, you, Mags and Storm prepare Demon for a firefight. Storm is crazy good at communications and tactical displays. She can handle both ships, if needed. Sky, spend more time with Star. Find out everything you can about how she hacked the Zenge ships at Fell. Maybe we can do the same here. Hiro, you have two jobs. Ask for anything anyone in the sciences can come up with to help. Aziza already increased our firepower with the improvements to the plasma cannons. Maybe someone else has a good idea. Then get the other Space Ranger together. They may need to assist Anton and the Marines. Surface incursions defined our original mission. Now’s the time to see if we remember the drills. Anyone, anything? No. Dismissed.”
☀︎Prince Yauni, and Tasha explained the situation to the King, who, in turn, explained it to his military and civilian council. While not everyone agreed, the majority backed the concept of controlling the time and place for engaging the Zenge. The King approved, and Yauni informed Captain Cooper.
☀︎Col. Gregory and Captain Shah divided their team. Gregory would stay at the northern pole space platform. The AStarr available should they need to redeploy. Shah, with her team, moved to the southern pole station. They would use the CHoenor if they needed to relocate.
☀︎Col. Rachelle Paré, Col. Sindy Kebede, Dr. Hiro Kimura and Captain Javaari Canedee, who volunteered, formed a four-person assault team. They would remain aboard the LBJ, with Paré as pilot. The shuttle loaded with extra ammo, weapons, EVA suits, and field packs. Dr. Bahadur Singh, his two Corpsmen, Sergeants Torre and Lindsfors, would remain on the shuttle as well, ready to provide field medicine wherever required. The Space Rangers would make sure the medics got in, and got the injured and the responders out again.
☀︎Dr. David Burton became acting Chief of Medicine for the 109. He had four nurses. The remaining science team members volunteered as orderlies and aides.
☀︎Cooper in the command chair of the 109 had the flag. This meant any and all allied space ships, including those belonging to Rys and the Fellen, acted under his orders. When he told someone, anyone, where to go and what to do, they obeyed. Period.
CHAPTER 17
Cooper order Kennedy to open communications across all channels.
“Ready, Captain,” she replied.
“We do not know when the Zenge will appear, but we are certain they will,” he said from his chair. “When anything comes through the wormhole gate do not, I repeat, DO NOT take any action. They will likely send a scout through first.
“The 109 and Demon will park on the third planet. The gate will sit between us and Rys. When they come, they will be boxed.
“Kennedy will relay the final initial contact rules of engagement and mission strategy to each station. Each commander must decide how best to prepare their people and equipment. But everyone must prepare to act according to the mission strategy. Normal communications will continue on and around the planet and moons. The 109 and Demon will remain dark. Stations on the moons, the platforms, and the planet are not to make any attempt to contact either ship. If no probe occurs within seventy-two hours, we will re-evaluate.
“If anyone has anything to say, send it to my coms. I’ll reply before we go silent. Kennedy, close outside channels.”
Cooper addressed his ship. “Kennedy will assume systems control for the 109. The kitchen remains open, and will be the only operational section on the ship. Crew aboard the 109 will rest as best you can, and eat when you need. When the probe arrives, Kennedy will alert us with lights only.
“Battle station crews have your assigned shifts. When the lights signal an arrival, initial battle shift personnel are to report to your assigned stations. Unless conditions force a change, shift changes every six hours following the initial alert. There is prepared, and there is over-anxious, so try to relax while you have the opportunity.
“Good luck to us all. Captain Cooper, out.” He waited a moment to allow the in-ship coms to close. He then ordered, “Kennedy, relay final battle p
lans and rules of engagement to designated commanders.” To those on the bridge with him, he said, “Command crew, please exit the bridge. Find something mindless to occupy your time.” He remained in his chair as everyone left.
Coop keyed a command channel. “Loba, prepare for departure. I will inform Commander Cornitsch to launch Demon immediately following the 109’s exit from the docks. Loba, find a nice dark valley on that rock of a third planet, and settle in.”
“Will do,” Casalobos replied. “Mags found a real deck of cards. We plan on teaching Storm the finer points of gambling.”
“They tell me I have to learn how to ‘raise the stakes’, and recognize a ‘bluff,’ if I am to continue to live with a human male,” Storm interjected.
“I’ll see all of you on the other side,” Cooper replied, ending transmission. His attention now directed to his ship.
“Kennedy, as of this moment, you maintain complete control of the ship until I tell you otherwise. Send disembarkation request to the platform control, and get us into space. Have Cornitsch confirm Demon’s departure. I want to locate and settle into a hidden cranny on that planet, before something comes through the wormhole.”
“Yes, sir,” the simple reply. “Kennedy has control.”
CHAPTER 18
A Zenge ship, designated a Primary, exited the gateway twenty-two hours after the 109 settled into a ravine on the third planet.
It entered natural space, but remained near the wormhole event. An hour later, it re-entered the gate.
Coop sat alone on the bridge when lights flashed, warning of an event. He ordered Kennedy to open video, but no scans. As he watched the Primary, the initial battle-shift personnel began entering and taking posts. No one booted systems. They sat and watched the video feed with him.
The PT-109 employed cameras with extremely high resolution and zoom capabilities. The technology copied optical systems used by the Star Gazer, and improved upon by the Fellen. The system expended minimal power, making it doubtful general scans by the Zenge would detect them. Demon utilized the same tech. Coop assumed they watched the same preliminary probe from a slightly different angle.
The planet, and off-world sites, would activate scans. The Zenge would expect those. To not scan a wormhole event for a ship’s signature would appear odd. No cannons fired upon the lone ship. They needed the Zenge to believe the wormhole too distant for surface-fired weapons to reach.
The wormhole now resided eight-million miles from Rys. A ship traveling an average of 40,000mph would take eight-days, eight-hours to complete the journey. Not too far for a trade mission, but much too far for a sneak attack. Coop believed the Zenge would attack with their faster ships, perhaps Mischene battlecruisers stolen from the Aster system. The cruisers operated at vastly faster-than-average speeds. These first-wave ships would be supported by the slower vessels transporting troops. He planned to destroy as many of their top-line ships as possible. Surprise the key.
If they did not task their best ships to invade Rys, then whatever sent would still be removed from their arsenal.
Fourteen-hours following the scout ship’s exit, the gate reopened, and ships emerged. The first four ships through were Mischene battlecruisers. Battleships acquitted with assorted torpedoes, missiles, eighteen laser cannons and two space-to-surface pulse cannons each. They could cruise up to .0035ls, or 234,716 miles-per-hour. The four ships were capable of reaching Rys in thirty-four hours.
The shovel-headed ship’s command bridge and force field generators sat on top. They employed elevator systems to drop the dynamos, needed to create electro-magnetic force fields, into the bowels of the main section of the craft to prevent targeting by enemy ships.
Twenty-eight ships followed the battlecruisers.
“Kennedy?” Coop expected his AI to anticipate his query.
“Four Mischene Battlecruisers, and twenty-two Zenge Primary. An additional six unrecognized ships, with unknown functions. All six are of similar design. They are larger than a Primary. Similar airframe to the mothership which escaped the Star Gazer battle by creating a wormhole. Similar, but one-quarter the size.”
That made them one-third of a mile in length, width, and depth. They looked like ancient American footballs, with the bottoms sheared flat, and a com tower on the top, near the middle-line.
“No cargo or supply vessels,” Kennedy added. “But the six we cannot identify could provide those services.”
“Sky, anything familiar about the six ships?” Coop asked.
“Sorry, no. I agree, they look like the mothership. I would guess they are Zenge, not stolen from another world, but I have no idea of their purpose,” she replied.
The battlecruisers, speeding toward Rys, outpaced the other ships. They moved ahead quickly, already coursing at top speed. Distance rapidly grew between the former Mischene ships, and the remaining battle group.
“Genna, soft scan only, speeds on every ship, and ETA to Rys,” Coop ordered.
“The lead cruisers average 234,700 mph. If they maintain speed, they will arrive in thirty-four hours. The second wave of eighteen Primary ships travel at 150,000mph, and fifty-four hours out. The final group, at 120,000mph, and sixty-seven hours from Rys. Four Primary currently maintain pace with the six undesignated,” Genna replied, and turned off scans.
“One-day ten-hours, two-days six-hours, and two-days nineteen-hours,” Coop converted times. He considered the pre-arranged mission parameters, and determined actions the other locations would initiate.
“The battlecruisers reach optimal tachyon range in thirty-two hours. At 500,000 miles, a tachyon burst from the planet’s surface will still produce maximum effect. The bursts will hit them before they can react,” Cooper mused aloud.
“Genna, on their current course, and ETA, how many of the planet’s new tachyon cannons will have line-of-sight on the cruisers?” he asked.
“Three,” she answered immediately. Anticipating the follow-up query, added, “Both orbital platforms, and one moon station will also have actionable angles of fire.”
“General Postatoon will use the three surface sites, and the cannons on the two platforms,” Cooper said. “He’ll hold the moon installations as back-ups. The two orbital sites combined to target a single battlecruiser, leaving one each for the surface cannons.”
On his command, Kennedy opened ship-wide PA. “All hands. We are entering hurry up, and wait mode. In one day Rys will test their new tachyon weapons against four Zenge-operated battlecruisers. If they do not work as well as hoped, we will depart at best speed to attack the cruisers from the rear. If they are successful, we will use the distraction to attack the trailing ships of the Zenge battle group. We do not know capabilities of the six mini-mothers. I expect everyone ready to make adjustments on the move. Cooper, out.”
Risking a low-band, quick message, augmented by the ship’s power, Cooper activated the personal channel on his translator/communication bracelet. “Storm, thirty-two hours, Coop out." He shut the com to Demon down without waiting on a reply.
“Mini-mothers?” Kebede asked.
“Fits,” Coop answered.
CHAPTER 19
The battlecruisers maintained course and speed. General Postatoon waited for the initial wave of ships to arrive at a point half-a-million miles out.
Zenge battle tactics remained rudimentary. The four ships should use their maneuverability, and the expansive nature of outer space as advantages. Attacking the planet from multiple directions, and presenting dispersed targets would increase their odds of success. Instead, they remained bunched, operating on the concept of overwhelming an enemy with numbers.
On the General’s order, five tachyon cannons let loose on the four warships.
Tachyons particle beams travel faster than light, and create spatial distortions upon target contact. The target destabilizes at a cellular level, and literally flies apart.
When a tachyon beam encountered a cruiser’s force field, it dispersed the electro-magnetic f
ields. Enough force remained to impact the ship and potentially breach the hull. The damage consequential, but quick action by a commander and sections could be closed. The dynamos would have the time needed to regenerate the damaged shield.
Unbeknownst to Cooper, Manny Hernandez convinced the Lisza Kaugh commander to interpolate plasma bursts with the tachyon beams. The slower plasma round followed the tachyon beam through the breach. The super-heated projectile, though slowing over the distance, still arrived at incredible speed. Without a force field to deflect or dampen the effects of the plasma-delivered load, it blew the cruiser into pulverized metal. The intense heat and the subsequent explosions vaporized organic material. To the unaided eye, the result appeared as a red-tinged dust cloud.
Cooper witnessed the destruction of the battlecruisers before ordering the pilot to enter space-fold. The 109’s array engaged and the ship raced toward the Zenge rear guard at a speed of .07SL. They would catch the enemy within fifty-minutes.
“Holy hell,” he said aloud. “Tachyon cannon can do that?”
Kebede explained the total destruction of the cruisers. No longer required to remain stealthy, she had activated all scans, at all levels.
“Plasma loads rode the tachyon beams,” she informed him. “The tachyon beam tore through the shields, opened a breach, and the plasma round did the rest.”
“Somebody is on their game,” Coop said. “Whoever came up with that combo, and I’m betting on Manny, created a game-changer weapon. Are we receiving readings on the remaining ships?”
“Yes, sir,” Kebede answered. “Scans work fine in space-fold. Demon is also in fold and headed on our course. The battlecruisers are toast. Nothing left larger than a land speeder. The second wave of Zenge Primary ships are slowing, and the rear guard has stopped. We will exit into natural space in fifty minutes, 10,000 miles behind the rear guard.”
