In the Presence of My Enemies

by Stephen A. Fender

  “And if I may, Captain?”

  “Yes?” Ramos said with an upturned eyebrow.

  “Has there been any word from our diplomatic mission to Rugor?”

  In truth, aside from the Meltranians, that was the paramount thought on Ramos’s mind. “No, sir,” he said with an air of remorsefulness. “Not since their last communication indicating that they’d made it through the final jump gate near Falorin. That was two days ago.”

  “Your tone indicates that you suspect something ominous may have happened to them.”

  Ramos nodded slowly. “Your perceptions of human emotions impresses me, Commodore. Yes, I fear something has happened to our team. They are long overdue for an update.”

  Savath grunted softly. “I have never known a finer officer than Colonel Tausan. If there is anything he can do to assure the success of their mission, I have full confidence in him to do so.”

  Captain Ramos nodded in return. “I wish I could say the same for Commander Kestrel. I don’t know him as well as you seem to know the Colonel, but if Admiral Graves’s description of Kestrel are accurate, then I have no doubts as to his own convictions about their endeavor.”

  Savath nodded once again. “I have come to … trust the admiral, and that is not easily said of any other human I have encountered—present company excepted.”

  “Of course,” Ramos nodded.

  “If the admiral has faith in your people, then so shall I.”

  “I just hope it’s enough, Commodore. If the Meltranians show up, we’re going to give them a hell of a fight, but I don’t know how effective it will be.”

  “I have no doubts you will fight and, if needed, die with honor, Captain. That is all that can be asked of any warrior.”

  Taking the statement as a compliment, Ramos nodded with a smile. “Our patrol team is ready to launch, sir. I will contact you as soon as we get viable telemetry.”

  “Understood, Captain. Savath out.”

  *

  “Captain,” Samantha spoke loudly, breaking the silent tension on the bridge and startling Ashlee Kidd. “We’re getting something from the long-range sensors!”

  Captain Ramos, who had been staring down at the beautiful blue-green world of Osa’Mara for the last fifteen minutes, quickly turned to face the sensor officer. “Give me a full report.”

  “Our two scout teams are converging on sector fourteen-gamma. Combined data indicates three vessels, sir, all matching the general description of the Meltranian vessel destroyed in orbit above Second Earth. They’re approaching on an extreme Z-axis.”

  “They’re coming in from above us,” Ramos said, calmly folding his hands behind his back. “What are their current vectors?”

  “All three are heading for a point on the far side of the planet, sir.”

  “Then we need to get the fleet underway now before they get there.”

  “Correction, sir!” Samantha shouted. “Two of the vessels are breaking off and are now on an intercept course with us.”

  Ramos’s worst fear had just been realized. He’d been hopeful that the Meltranians would stay clustered together, making for a tight battle high above the planet. Now the intruders were dividing their forces, something Ramos knew he couldn’t do with his own fleet with any assuredness that they would be victorious. “What is their estimated time to intercept?”

  Samantha’s fingers played across her computer with the skill of a concert pianist. “The lone vessel will arrive at that planet roughly six minutes before the remaining two vessels are within firing range of our guns, sir. ETA with those vessels will be in T-minus ten minutes.”

  “They’re going to attack the planet while we’re distracted fighting the other two ships,” Ramos said, feeling a fine layer of sweat begin to form under his hat. “Communications officer, contact the battle cruiser Mikuma and order them to intercept the planet-bound warship,” the captain said, then reached out to a nearby console and pressed the secure channel button. “Commodore Savath, we have incoming aliens on multiple attack vectors.”

  “We are reading the same, Fleet Captain. What are your orders?”

  “I need you to send two vessels to the far side of the planet to head off one of the intruders. They will be augmented by the heavy cruiser Mikuma.”

  “We will stand divided?”

  “I don’t see that we have any other choice now, and I’m afraid we can’t commit any more warships to the planet until we’ve dealt with the two Meltranian vessels heading for us now.”

  “I understand, Captain Ramos,” Savath said almost mournfully. “It will be as you request. Two war cruisers are getting underway now.”

  Out in the void, Ramos watched the impressive fleet cruiser Mikuma—the namesake of another mighty cruiser lost in an ancient battle on the seas of Old Earth—disengage from the fleet formation, praying that she wouldn’t share in the same fate as her predecessor. Astern of the quickly advancing cruiser, two boulder-like Kafaran vessels, each nearly seven hundred feet long, sped up quickly to flank the Sector Command warship. Soon the three vessels were over the northern pole of the planet, and it wasn’t a moment too soon. Far in the distance, Ramos could clearly see the Meltranian vessel as it began to slow in its approach to the planet. Knowing that the other two enemy vessels weren’t far behind, he reached for another control on the panel and switched on the ship’s address system. “All hands, this is the captain. This is a Code-One emergency. All hands to battle stations. Repeat: all hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. All damage control parties stand ready. All pilots man your craft.” Lifting his finger from the button, he turned to Lieutenant Commander Weberity at the operations podium. “See that that message is repeated twice more, Commander.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Ashlee, move us into an attack posture. I want the fleet to face the enemy head-on when they arrive.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, her voice wavering slightly.

  Straightening, Ramos placed a steadying hand on both her and Samantha’s shoulders. “I have faith in you both.”

  Subconsciously, Samantha reached out her hand to place it over the captain’s, who in the last several months had become something of a father figure to her. “Thank you, sir.” Fearing that it was breaking protocol—and knowing that Ashlee would likely rebuke her for the gesture—she turned and was surprised to see Lieutenant Kidd’s hand had also closed around the captain’s, albeit far more tightly. When the two women locked eyes, they shared a soft smile, then released their holds on Ramos in unison and turned to their duties.

  That was when Samantha looked down to her sensor monitor in horror. “Captain, the lead Meltranian vessel has opened fire on the planet!”

  “What!” Ramos shouted in surprise. “What was their target?”

  “They targeted the city of Corvale on the eastern continent. Population two point six million. It’s the middle of the afternoon there, sir. The area is full of civilians!”

  “Damage report?”

  “Scans coming in now,” she said, correlating the information on the screen and trying to swallow the pit quickly forming in her stomach. “With few exceptions, the entire downtown area has been leveled. Casualty estimates are in the several hundred thousands and rising rapidly.”

  “My God,” Ramos breathed as he looked at the monitor. The numbers were indeed rising, quickly surpassing six hundred thousand before gradually slowing.

  “The Mikuma and the Kafaran warships are now in weapons range and attacking the Meltranian vessel,” Ashlee said, watching the secondary navigation sensor screen. Ramos looked down to see the computer-simulated vessels firing their weapons at the target ship.

  “Their weapons are having only superficial effects against the enemy vessel,” Samantha said dejectedly.

  Ramos watched the screen, waiting with anticipation over how the Meltranian vessel would react.

  “Sir,” the communications officer said from his terminal on the far side of the bridge. “I’ve got the Osa�
��Mara planetary government on the line. They are requesting immediate assistance, and they don’t care if it comes in the form of Kafarans or not.”

  There’s a surprise. “Tell them we are going to do everything in our power to safeguard the lives of the population. In the meantime, evacuate everyone in any major metropolitan area immediately. I fear this is far from the only bombardment the Meltranians have in mind.”

  “Aye, sir!”

  “Captain,” Samantha said. “The two remaining Meltranian vessels are slowing. ETA to our position is two minutes.”

  “Flight Control Officer, are all the pilots away?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Have them form a defensive perimeter around the Duchess. Now!”

  “Aye.”

  Ramos reached down and opened the channel to Commodore Savath. Not waiting for a response, he began issuing orders. “Commodore, move some of your warships between us and the Meltranians. Hopefully your shielding will buy us enough time to launch an offensive.”

  “Understood,” Savath’s voice replied.

  Less than a minute later, a thick wall of Kafaran vessels stood between the Sector Command fleet and the approaching Meltranian vessels. Without fanfare, both of the invader’s warships opened fire with their immensely powerful isotonic cannons. Two Kafaran cruisers, the targets of those attacks, were bathed in blinding white light as their advanced defensive systems fought with all available power to thwart the battering they were under. A moment later, the light faded, and the Kafaran cruisers remained.

  “All units, move in and attack!” Ramos shouted. “Quickly, while their cannons are recharging!”

  Two Sector Command cruisers, their upper and lower dual-barreled bombardment cannons swinging into action, wasted little time in firing their initial salvos. Globs of blue-white energy reached out across open space, over the Kafaran screen of warships, and impacted squarely with the skeletal-looking Meltranian vessels, severing off chunks of claw-like spires a hundred feet long, but doing little else.

  “Captain, reading another build up from the vessel in orbit,” Samantha said, trying not to shout this time. “It’s targeted the Mikuma!”

  “Order her to take immediate evasive action!” Ramos shouted in response, though he knew that the Mikuma’s captain—an experienced officer and veteran of the Galactic War—would no doubt be doing so anyway. Turning back to the main sensor readout, Ramos watched in astonishment as the alien’s cannon blasted a hellish salvo at point-blank range to the Sector Command cruiser. In seconds, the cruiser vanished from the scope.

  “The Mikuma is … is just gone, sir.”

  “Gone,” Ramos replied in despair.

  “Completely destroyed, Captain,” Samantha said. “No life signs in the immediate area. The remaining Kafaran ships are continuing to press their attack, but the Meltranian ship is changing course.”

  Is it too much to ask if they are retreating? “New heading?”

  Ashlee Kidd cross-checked her readings. “They’re moving into position above Ericost, also on the eastern continent and in the same time zone as Corvale. Population is estimated at three point three million.”

  Now what?

  At communications, the three-armed Polysaurian spoke up. “Captain, Commodore Savath is reporting the two Kafaran cruisers damaged in the attack against our forces are heavily damaged and can no longer hold position. They are moving to the rear of the fleet.”

  Ramos stole a glance beyond the view port and watched as the two large vessels moved off. For a fleeting moment, he caught sight of one of the two Meltranian vessels beyond. They looked like enormous, desiccated skulls from some galactic-sized dragon. As three Kafaran ships moved in to take the vacated positions, one of the Meltranian vessels fired its cannon. The blinding light was too much for the Duchess’s auto-dimming windows to handle, forcing everyone on the bridge to shield their eyes.

  When the intensity faded a few seconds later, Ramos was silently glad to still be alive. Reaching out to place a hand on Ashlee’s shoulder to steady himself, he straightened his hat. “Is everyone all right? I need a damage report.”

  “No damage to report,” Commander Weberity reported from his console at flight operations.

  “What was their intended target?” Ramos asked to anyone who could give the information.

  “The destroyer Teviot, sir,” Weberity replied somberly. “She was our starboard screen.”

  “Is she…?”

  “She’s adrift, sir,” Ashlee said, first looking to her instruments then out the forward window.

  “No life signs on the Teviot,” came Samantha’s soft voice from beside her. “They’re all dead, sir.”

  We’re getting torn to shreds out here. “What is the status of the Meltranian ship in orbit?”

  “Best estimate would be superficial damage only, Captain,” Samantha replied. “The Kafaran warships are continuing to attack.”

  Another blast rocketed out from the alien vessel ahead of the Duchess. With the numerous Kafaran vessels in their direct path, Ramos and the rest of the bridge crew could only see the aura of the energy discharge as it slammed into a Kafaran carrier.

  “Commodore Savath’s carrier has taken a direct hit!” Samantha announced, followed by a report from Lieutenant Commander Weberity at his flight operations console.

  “Five of our squadrons have evaded the blast, and are attacking enemy interceptors in quadrants five, six, seven, and ten. They’re taking heavy casualties.”

  “Sir!” Samantha cried out loudly. “New signal coming in on the long-range scope.”

  “What is it? More aliens?”

  “I don’t think so, sir.”

  “We’re receiving communications,” came the status from the communications station.

  “On the overhead, Lieutenant.”

  There was a burst of static, followed by a string of disjointed words. “Clean that up, Lieutenant,” Ramos ordered.

  “Scans confirmed, sir,” Samantha shouted in joy. “It’s the Rugorians!”

  But to fight against us or with us?

  There was beep from the overhead speaker, and a voice was now coming through with absolute clarity.

  “I repeat, this is Commander Shawn Kestrel, Unified Sector Command on coded channel ninety-eight point seven. Duchess of York, do you copy?”

  Thank God for miracles. “Commander, this is Fleet Captain Ramos on the Duchess,” Ramos said, failing to mask his delight. “You picked a fine time to join the party, Commander.”

  “Better late than never,” Shawn said with a chuckle. “We had a hell of a time convincing our friends here to join us, but Ambassador McDermott can be a pretty hard man to argue with.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Well done, Commander.” He then looked down to Samantha. “How many ships are on approach?” he asked her.

  “Sensors are showing at least thirty vessels on approach, sir.”

  Now is the time to turn the tide in our favor.

  “Commander Kestrel’s signal is coming from the lead Rugorian battle cruiser,” Weberity added.

  “Where do you need us?” Kestrel asked.

  “There’s a Meltranian vessel in low orbit. It’s already destroyed one population center, and it’s taking aim at another right now. Get all your forces to that area and take out the alien there. We’ll continue to hold off the remaining enemy ships.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  Ramos watched on Samantha’s screen as the large fleet of Rugorian warships—battle wagons, cruisers, destroyers, and more blockade runners than he could count—swoop over from their starboard side on their way to the planet.

  And may God watch over every one of them.

  “There was no way of telling what was going on in the minds of the enemy. All we had to go on at that point was the intelligence provided to us by the Kafarans, and half the top brass at Sector Command took everything they said with more than a grain of salt. I mean, hell, you have to remember … we hadn’t even discove
red the alien library at Tellun Impora at that time. We thought that, after a few victories, it entitled us to a puffed chest as we thumbed our nose at the Meltranians. We really had no idea what we were up against, or how deadly our foe really was. And we found out soon enough, didn’t we?”

  —Major General W.R. Queston

  5th Unified Marine Battalion Commander

  The Five Stars: Military Leaders in the Meltranian Incursion, 2nd Edition.

  Chapter 14

  The Rugorian fleet, with Shawn in the belly of the lead battle cruiser, came down on the Meltranian vessel in orbit like a flaming arrow. The Meltranian fighters, sensing a much larger threat, disengaged from attacking the two Kafaran warships and moved in to engage the Rugorians. As soon as the enemy fighters were in weapons range, a throng of lightning-fast Rugorian blockade runners moved ahead of the fleet, blasting away at anything and everything in their path. The maneuver looked far from polished, but the lead ships from the House of Dracton did their jobs well.

  On the bridge of the newly reactivated battle cruiser Redemption, Captain Voula watched as his former prisoners began to attack the Meltranians with more tenacity than he had ever witnessed before.

  “Still think those dissidents should be executed?” Shawn asked over the captain’s shoulder.

  Voula, too concerned with the battle to turn and face the commander, chuckled lightly. “Their sentences have been commuted by the Rugorian Protectorate for the time being, Commander. For now, they are free men. If they perform well in this encounter, they may even be redeemed,” he said, then turned to smile at Shawn. “In my eyes, that is. I have little say in what the protectorate will decide.”

  “I can understand that.”

  Voula looked over to his weapons officer. “Order all mass cannon crews to target the Meltranian vessel.”

  “Yes, Captain!” came the reply from the new gunner, himself almost too large to sit at the human-sized console.

  “And, Colonel Tausan?”

  The Kafaran looked up from the weapons console. “Yes, Fleet Captain?”

  “I’d should be quite disappointed if you fail to do your utmost to destroy that offensive vessel out there.”