by Doug Farren
The two officers continued to discuss the developing situation as the fleet entered the system. They noted the movement of the vast number of defenders and made slight adjustments to their own approach vector to compensate.
“Multiple missile launch detected,” the tactical station announced.
The tactical display showed the incoming threat as a red smear. The shear number of missiles heading their way prevented them from being individually depicted. Commander Eshka watched in fascination as the number of missiles displayed on the summary sidebar continued to rise and finally stopped at a staggering number.
“Approximately one hundred and thirty eight thousand missiles inbound,” the tactical station reported.
One could never say the Chroniech were stupid nor could anyone say they did not learn from the past. The losses due to missiles in past encounters with the Alliance had been unacceptable, especially at Proquindabo. The Chroniech central command had analyzed the attack and had devised a method of defense just in case the Alliance tried it again.
“Launch counter missile defense,” the Commander ordered.
Two thousand four hundred and twenty six missiles blasted away from the fleet. The missiles communicated among themselves and adjusted their course to cover the densest concentration of Alliance missiles. They waited until they were almost upon the swarm then detonated.
Each Chroniech missile contained a low yield nuclear warhead surrounded by a huge volume of high density ball bearings. The detonation of the warhead created a fast moving cloud of ball bearings that tore through the unshielded, relatively thin shells of the Alliance missiles rendering them harmless. The close-in anti-missile defenses of the vast fleet took care of the rest. None of the Chroniech ships were damaged.
“Alliance missiles destroyed. Their fleet is altering course to intercept,” the tactical station reported.
Commander Eshka smiled, the anti-missile defenses had worked wonderfully and his fleet was as strong as ever. His losses should be minimal. Glancing at the tactical summary he noted that they would be in weapons range in less than ten minutes.
“Picking up multiple large unknown type energy surges,” the science station reported.
The Commander stared at the screen as over one hundred bright blue spots appeared practically on top of the fleet. Before he could formulate an order the tactical station added, “Two hundred fifty six large battle stations have just appeared. Their weapons were inactive but are coming on line.”
“Cloaked defense stations?” Eshka said into the air. “It must be Kyrra technology.”
Things always happened fast during fleet combat but this was completely unexpected. It took several precious microseconds for the tactical computers to analyze the new threats and even longer for the weapons to be retargeted. Before the Chroniech had managed to fire a single shot they found themselves under intense bombardment.
The Falnath jump drive created what amounted to a two dimensional hole in normal space. The hole was actually a hyperdimensional tunnel connecting two spots in space together. The defense station appeared to move through the hole from nowhere into the combat zone. Even though the intense energy pulse caused by the transition through hyperdimensional space caused all systems on the defense station to shutdown, the computers rebooted nearly instantly and brought the station’s defenses back on line in a matter of seconds.
The defense station’s tactical computers analyzed the enemy fleet, chose a target, and opened fire. As the sledgehammers charged, the stations let loose with everything else they had. Antimatter enhanced particle beam cannons of immense size joined with planetary scale coherent energy weapons to punch their way through even the toughest Chroniech shield.
The defense stations had popped into normal space so close to the Chroniech fleet that the weapons lost virtually no energy on their way to their targets. The Chroniech shields resisted as best they could but the sheer amount of power pounding against them was too much. Each defense station had been programmed to target the closest Chroniech ship no matter how small or large.
Built to defend a planet against an invading fleet, each defense station was armed with enough firepower to take on several ships at once. All this incredible power was directed against a single ship. Energy beams overwhelmed the shields then blasted through tough armor as if it were tinfoil. Barely reduced in power, the beams continued to chew their way through the ship turning steel into rivers of molten metal, superheating the air inside the ship, and vaporizing anything less resilient than solid steel until finally reaching their goal – the shield generator.
Once the generator had been destroyed the beams continued to weave a pattern through the now helpless ship until it was literally sliced into nonfunctional sections. In the past, the station’s computer would have detected when the shield had failed and would have left the final demolition to a nuclear tipped missile. But, the Alliance also learned from the past and knew of the Chroniech’s use of at least one backup shield generator.
Fleet Commander Eshka watched in horror as 156 ships of his fleet were quickly destroyed. His own guns, however, had not been silent. The cold electronic brains of the fleet’s tactical computers did not suffer from the time delay associated with surprise. They quickly updated their tactical scenarios, reassessed the newly appeared threats, and developed a plan to eliminate them. The fleet’s current arrangement of ships was analyzed and targets were assigned.
Chroniech super weapons powered by matter/antimatter reactors cut through the defense station’s shields with little resistance. Built to continue operating even under extreme circumstances the stations continued to fight back even as they were being systematically cut into smaller and smaller pieces. As the last station was finally silenced the Alliance fleet came within weapons range and the tactical computers once again adjusted to the new threat.
Beam weapons crisscrossed each other through space to impact on the shields of the combatants. Crackling balls of electromagnetic energy flew from ship to ship. Some were intercepted by other, smaller balls of energy causing the appearance of miniature flares between the two fleets. Lost amid the energy beams and solitons were the far slower missiles. A few managed to sneak undetected through the electromagnetic interference to impact on the shield of a ship. The multimegaton detonation created a miniature sun which blasted through the ship’s shield.
Space was filled with pieces of ships, floating debris, parts of bodies, and everything else that should have been inside the airtight hull of a functioning warship. The unimaginable amount of raw power flooding the area rendered many sensors blind or reduced their capabilities. The electromagnetic pulses from detonating nuclear warheads, collapsing magnetic fields, and shield discharges created an environment that would have completely burnt out any unprotected electronics.
The battle lasted exactly 11.83 minutes. In the end, all 654 Alliance ships had been either completely or partially destroyed along with the 256 jump-drive defense stations. The Fleet Commander had been watching the battle as it unfolded from the edge of his command chair. Other than being able to direct some major events affecting the fleet as a whole, Kartvack had been forced to let the tactical computers do their work.
When the last Alliance ship finally fell, Commander Eshkra blinked and found that his eyes were so dry they hurt. He had been staring unblinking at the tactical display for so long that his eyes had dried out. He blinked a few more times then sat back in his chair. His fleet had suffered far more losses than anticipated and the mission was in jeopardy. Even his own ship, an advanced master battleship, had sustained a small amount of damage. Although the Alliance fleet had been destroyed, the original defense stations along with the planetary defenses remained.
“I want to know where those battle stations came from,” the Fleet Commander said to nobody in particular. “If they were cloaked, then how did they position themselves so close to our fleet without being detected? Why weren’t the others cloaked? What were those energy surges j
ust prior to the appearance of the stations? I want answers!”
“Perhaps the Alliance has been given a new drive technology by the Kyrra,” the science station speculated. “The energy surges are unique but they do contain a transdimensional component.”
Commander Eshka looked up at the tactical summary and noted the computer’s prediction for the success of their primary mission. The fleet had been reduced to 196 operational vessels many of which had taken some damage. The probability of success now stood at 6% - not good enough for them to continue in his opinion.
Coming to a decision he said, “Hold position here. We will wait for reinforcements. Send out some maintenance robots and have them collect some of the debris from those supposedly cloaked stations. Have them concentrate on anything that seems unusual. Have our engineers and scientists take the pieces apart and get me some answers.”
* * * * *
Captain Zatch had finally completed his transceiver modifications after working for nearly two days without sleep. Once the project had been completed he had taken a break, got some rest, refreshed himself, and waited. The waiting was the hard part. He had only himself and the quiet interior of the ship to talk to. Its only reply was the whisper of the air recyclers and the tiny hums and clicks of the ship as the automatic systems kept it functioning. To keep himself occupied he spent a good portion of his time monitoring the progress of the battle.
When word finally came of a sighting of the Komodo Dragon, he sprang into action. He now knew the approximate location of the ship. He set the course and engaged his stardrive. While he traveled, he scanned the star charts looking for a suitable location to set up his equipment. It didn’t take long for him to find the perfect system.
The tricky part about the entire operation would be to convince the Captain of the Komodo Dragon to agree to meet with him on his terms. He needed some insight into the mind of an Alliance Captain. While his ship blasted through space, he accessed the Chroniech data network and pulled up everything anyone knew about the Alliance and started to read.
Unexpected Resistance
Fleet Commander Taklet sat in his command chair brooding over the unexpected losses they had suffered. It had been a well conceived trap and he had fallen right into it. It was now painfully obvious that the Kyrra were very much involved in the affairs of the Alliance. High command had always suspected the Alliance was controlled by the Kyrra and the recent use of Kyrra technology only proved their point.
The Commander’s executive officer approached startling him out of his thoughts when he said, “Still upset about the trap the Kyrra lured us into?”
Commander Taklet looked up and growled at the XO. The toothless smile indicated that the growl was not a challenge but a confirmation. “It’s an old trick too,” he complained.
“Too old to be used with modern warships,” the XO agreed. “But the Kyrra cloaks are perfect. If they sit idle it is impossible for them to be detected.”
“Rumor has it that we are working on a solution to that problem.”
“The Kyrra were once our superiors,” the XO proudly proclaimed. “But we have risen to their challenge and are now at least their equals. They will never be able to dominate us again. I look forward to the day when we can finally say that their entire race has been eliminated.”
“That day cannot come soon enough for… ”
The Fleet Commander was interrupted by the ship’s alarm klaxon as it sounded the call to battle stations. Taklet looked up at the tactical display to find that 25 ships near the edge of their fleet had been forced out of stardrive and were now engaged in battle with the same group of Kyrra ships that had attacked them earlier. The fleet had continued on and was quickly leaving them behind.
“Reverse course! Drop to normal space as soon as we are within range and engage!” the Commander barked out orders.
Fleet Commander Taklet quickly figured out what had happened. The faster Kyrra ships had moved ahead of the fleet and had sat waiting for them to arrive. As the fleet passed, the Kyrra had forced a group of his ships to drop out of stardrive by activating several well-placed gravity mines. The rest of the fleet had quickly left them behind.
Commander Taklet looked at his XO with rage in his eyes. “Damn Kyrra are going to pick us off in small chunks.”
Learning from the previous engagement, the tactical computers aboard the Chroniech ships had chosen a different attack strategy against the Kyrra. Instead of trying to engage all the ships at once, the 25 ships split their firepower between two Kyrra warships. The combined firepower of the Chroniech weapons instantly overloaded the Kyrra shields. Within a matter of seconds the two warships exploded as a self destruct charge turned their advanced technology to dust.
The Chroniech tactical computer made careful note of the fact that the Kyrra ships appeared not to be as robust as their own. Once the shield had been penetrated the ship itself was easily defeated. The hull was not armored, the ship did not seem to be equipped with redundant backup systems, and vital internal systems were not protected by additional armor.
The remaining Kyrra made short work of the Chroniech but lost three of their own during the brief encounter. Before the main fleet managed to turn themselves around the surviving Kyrra ships engaged their stardrives and departed back into the depths of space.
* * * * *
“I got to hand it to them,” Stricklen said to the XO after the battle. “They sure learn fast.”
Commander Tobunga followed his Captain out of CIC and headed for the mess hall. As they walked they continued their conversation. “We are down three ships. We won’t be able to make much of a dent in that monster fleet before it arrives at Almaranus. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed in the performance of the Kyrra warships. I thought they would be far stronger.”
“At least we are giving Almaranus some more time to prepare. We’ve slowed them down twice and I intend on doing so again and again until we run out of ships.”
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Tobunga pointed out. “They will be at Almaranus in four days.
“We will do what we can,” Stricklen said. “Every ship we take out now is one less the Almaranus fleet has to worry about.”
* * * * *
Supreme Fleet Commander Aruthra Manetgu took his place at the head of the conference table. The meeting had been called to address the recent developments in the plan to destroy the Alliance.
“Let me summarize the details of the recent developments,” he said without preamble. “The Kyrra are apparently supplying the Alliance with a limited supply of advanced weapons. A few ships have been encountered with Kyrra built weapons and shields. So far the number is small but appears to be increasing as time passes.”
Manetgu looked around the room to gauge the response then continued, “The Kyrra have also entered the war directly and appear to have fielded at least one battle group. This group is currently engaged in operations against fleet S18. The Komodo Dragon appears to be working with this group of ships.”
“We have also recently received a report that the Kyrra super ship has left our space and is heading into Alliance territory at extremely high speed. Its destination is currently unknown. It is avoiding all contact with our forces at this time. We have no explanation for why it is doing this.”
“Fleet F11 has suffered the loss of a considerable number of ships due to the sudden arrival of a large number of defense stations practically within the bounds of their fleet. The method by which these stations were moved or hidden is still being debated but it seems as if the Kyrra are once again involved. Fleet F12 is being diverted to reinforce F11 so they may continue with their mission. Comments?”
One of the very rare female military commanders spoke up and said, “If the Kyrra areips. supplying the Alliance with weapons and shields, they must be doing so from within the Alliance. Based on the limited use of such weapons I would surmise that they are doing so from a single location. I propose we attempt to locate this base of K
yrra operations and eliminate it.”
The Fleet Commander was impressed and allowed himself to show it by producing a low growl from deep within his throat. Others, apparently feeling the same way also made the same noise. Fighting was usually the place of the male of the species yet there were the rare females who preferred the challenge of a military career. It was not that they were smaller nor any weaker than the males, but their brains were usually wired for child rearing and caring for a family instead of fighting.
“An excellent suggestion,” the Fleet Commander replied. “Do we have any ideas concerning where this base might be located?”
The senior battle tactician nodded his head and said, “During our first encounter with the Alliance a small task force destroyed the mining facilities on a planet near the outer regions of the Alliance. Since the planet did not seem to possess any significant military or civilian significance at that time it has not been included in the list of top priority targets. There is evidence to suggest that this planet may now be some sort of military supply center.”
“Details?”
The officer entered a command into his computer interface before continuing. “Our probes have tracked a large number of ship movements into and out of this particular system. There is a strong correlation between the ships that have left the system and the ships known to possess Kyrra weapons. We have been unable to get any probes into the system to determine the type of facility that might exist there.”
Glancing at his master battle display the Fleet Commander said, “Recon group R2 is available. Have them proceed to that planet and investigate. They are to avoid engaging the enemy.”
Aruthra paused for a moment to look around the room. So far the battle had been progressing well but there were indications that the Alliance war machine, with the help of the Kyrra, was making some small progress toward improving their ability to fight back.
