by C. R. Daems
"Yes, we all secretly wish for the opportunity to be heroes, although deep down we know the horror of war—friends and comrades dying. Let's hope the Eirene can help us be heroes while minimizing the horror."
* * *
Her visit to the Intel unit was stranger than the Scorpion area. Intel had always been off limits, even to a Captain. The two Scorpion guards allowed her in with a minimum check, since Lt. Commander Jackson had already authorized her access. He gave her a tour of his domain, and they spent some time getting to know each other. He also bubbled with excitement at the prospect of seeing the Aliens and their technology.
* * *
Pavao opened her SID. "Thalia's bored. We're on Ship Standby, one-third of each unit on duty each eight hour shift."
Strange she thought. Her position was Captain; therefore, every Riss on the Eirene would accept her decisions without question. But unlike the military where your superiors—Leader in this case—suggestions were an order, here they were suggestions, since her position was Captain of the Eirene.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Aliens arrive
For the first few hours after the cruisers arrived, the humans seemed tense, but as the day wore on it eased and by the next day the mood was relaxed and the ship had returned to normal. Wanting to reinforce the Standby state, I decided on a workout and found Terril teaching a rather large Si'jin class, which included Lt. Commander Katlin and several of the Ghost pilots.
"Well, Master Reese, are you so bored you've come looking for a fight?" She used the title of Master as I was dressed in normal Si'jin garb. "A few of my instructors are bored, too. They’d like some action. You do kind of owe us some excitement."
I hadn't been doing much working out since we left Freeland, so not everyone had seen me fight. Katlin and her pilots hadn't and were staring open mouthed.
"All right. I don't want anyone bored. It's bad for morale."
"Master Garritt, here's your chance to earn another knot," Terril said, waving at a tall lanky man in his early thirties. His belt had seven knots, and he walked like a snowcat. I felt no emotions from him, nor would I expect any from a solid seven-knot practitioner of Si'jin. As he approached, Terril stepped towards us to begin the match, but before she could raise her hand between us, he attacked. He had the advantage of reach in arms and legs. A variety of sweeps, spinning kicks, and punches followed in rapid succession. Only my time with Master Wei helped me avoid the initial onslaught. The couple of scores he managed were feather light. My counter moves weren't. I scored three to one, but he managed to deflect most of the force, until what should have been a well-executed sweep.
I would be a second late getting out of the way, so I leaned towards him as his leg caught me at the ankles. I use the force to spin in the air, and as I completed the spin, drove my elbow into his chest. As he fought to regain his balance, my head slammed into his and he fell backward. I fell with him, driving my knee into his chest as we hit the floor and then rolled away and onto my feet. He lay still, fighting for air.
"Master Garritt, when you're through resting, why don't you take the class. Master Reese and I are going to see if that counter move was an accident or a reproducible move." She steered me over to a vacant corner. "That was a very impressive move, Nadya, considering he caught you napping."
"I've had good teachers."
"Or just lucky. Let's find out." Terril and I spent the next hour duplicating the conditions. We found leaning into your opponent when your feet were swept from under you allowed you to use the force of the attack to spin you into your opponent. When we stopped, we had acquired a crowd of spectators and got a round of applause. I returned to the Bridge relaxed and refreshed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Aboard the cruiser Tetia
The Alien's cruiser tagged A1 settled into an orbit above the city of Zig, the second largest city and hub of Zigzag's limited commerce and shuttle traffic to and from their small space station.
"Captain, the Alien's ship A1 has begun broadcasting … in standard Eden," Commander Ellison, the XO of the Teita, said in a tone of surprise.
“I suspect more surprises are coming,” Captain Burglin mused. “Who would expect an Alien culture to speak your language? The great thinkers had developed elaborate messages to be used when we encountered Aliens, which would provide a framework for communications.” He wasn't sure whether the Aliens knowing how to communicate with us constituted a good or bad sign. They were soon to find out.
"Comm, put it on speaker. I'm sure everyone is interested, and tight-beam it to the Golden Eagle." A few seconds later, a mechanical base-sounding voice spoke.
"People of Zigzag, the Supreme Council of the Gods have placed Zigzag under permanent quarantine. We are here to enforce their decree. You will be allowed eight hours to evacuate the space station and the two spaceships docked there. At the end of that time, they and anyone with them will be destroyed. From now on, you are restricted to the surface of Zigzag and forbidden from flying any object. Violating these restrictions will have severe consequences." The voice continued the same message every fifteen minutes for the next six hours. Then they began announcing the time remaining every fifteen minutes.
"What do you think, Skipper?"
"Well, we now know how they isolate a solar system—destroy the Comstat, space station, and any space going ships. We also know it's an edict from the Supreme Council of the Gods, which does not give me a warm, comfortable feeling. Not only are gods scary but so are the people who claim to speak for them. The question is, why the edict? It would seem easier to raze the planet."
"Maybe they don't have the technology."
"Or … maybe they are afraid they wouldn't kill everyone." Burglin whispered.
"Captain, one of the merchants is making a run for it," Lt. Babbin on radar shouted. The words had no sooner left his mouth, when. "Missiles fired … they're defenseless … multiple explosions. Nothing survived that."
"We can't just sit here, Captain!"
"Yes we can, and yes we will. Admiral Wattson was very specific. We will take no action until he orders an attack. Our top priority is to collect information about the Aliens. As cruel as it may be, we aren't here to protect or save anyone. Soon the Harris and Teita will be given orders to attack A1. We are the least capable ships in the squadron—we haven't been upgraded and don't have the new missiles. We are another information gathering source, so don't feel too sorry for the merchants—they had a choice."
"It's two against one, and that cruiser is less than three-quarters our size," Ellison said, his jaw set in determination.
"Let's hope size matters," Burglin said. He hoped in this case size did matter. His XO had forgotten about the Riss cruisers, which were
smaller and uglier.
The Bridge remained quiet for the next hour. There was plenty to think about: the people of Zigzag, the merchants, and the upcoming engagement.
"Captain, four missiles launched towards the space station … the merchant ship exploded." Thirty seconds later. "Another four … massive explosions on the station."
"Another piece of the puzzle, XO. Our Aliens' ships have four missile tubes and can fire every thirty seconds. The good news is we have six; however, it takes us sixty seconds to reload. I'm glad that the Harris will join the party. It’s a new Light and has eight tubes, but like us, time to reload is sixty seconds."
"Captain, Admiral Wattson has given the order to attack."
"Light her up, XO. It's party time." Burglin had no sooner spoken than A1 began to move. He knew they had less than thirty seconds until A1 could launch missiles.
"Tac, fire when ready."
"Missiles away. Sixty seconds to impact."
"The Harris has fired."
"A1 has split its fire. Time to impact … unknown."
"Shit, no hits." Radar reported. Forty seconds later, the Teita shook as one of the two missiles from A1 eluded ECM.
"Those damn missiles somehow turnoff when they detect chaff. They become just a piece of metal and are a bitch to locate. Something like our new Riss missiles. And they are fast. I estimate thirty-seconds per light second. Ours are slower by fifteen seconds."
"Another data point." Burglin nodded. "None of them good."
The battle raged on for what seemed like an eternity. When the battle ended, the Teita had launched one hundred twenty missiles and the Harris one hundred sixty, scoring a total of only sixteen hits. The fighters scored multiple hits. A1 had launched one hundred sixty missiles during that time, scoring fourteen hits on the Harris and seventeen on the Tetia. The Harris remained marginally operational, but the Tetia was destroyed along with six Strikers when A1's ten fighters targeted the Tetia.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The battle of ZigZag
Captain Dannatt sat in the command chair listening to the recording of the Aliens' broadcast to Zigzag, the Teita had sent via tight-beam. Considering how defenseless the planet, the Aliens proved cautious sending three cruisers. One had approached the planet to give their ultimatum while the other two had remained well back, to provide backup and to handle any incoming traffic. The scout remained close to the Wave observing the results. The Aliens actions didn't appear to be an occupation, since for now at least, they hadn't brought an occupying army. But they seemed to be planning to stay, guaranteeing no information left the solar system. We had discovered what and how, but not why. The good news was that the Aliens were allowing the residents to evacuate the area before they began their destruction, because Wattson appeared ready to let the Aliens do what they were going to do regardless of the consequences. Dannatt understood they were here to learn about the enemy, and we could only do that if we let them do what they came to do. But it was hard to sit and watch a planet being attacked when the navy's mission was to protect them.
"Captain, one of the merchants has left the space station, and A1 has launched missiles," Ooten, the radar officer said. He remained quiet for several minutes. "Damn the bastards. The merchant's ship has disappeared off the radar—it's nothing but space debris."
The waiting continued for another two hours.
"Another launch, Captain. Eight hours to the second." Ooten banged his hand on the console. Dannatt felt his frustration at not being able to do anything. "Another four."
"Damn," Dannatt cursed, looking up at the chronometer. Thirty seconds between launches. Our Light cruisers are going to have problems even with two against one.
"Multiple explosions on the Space Station. The docked merchant's ship has exploded," Ooten spat.
"Captain Dannatt, you are free to engage A3. The Puma and Kestrel have been notified to engage A2. Good hunting," Admiral Wattson said over Dannatt's SID. He and his staff were in the command center monitoring the task force's activities and directing operations.
"Tac, engage A3, fire at will." Seconds later a slight vibration as twelve missiles headed for A3.
"Time to impact, sixty-seven seconds." Parcell, the Tac officer, said.
"Four incoming. Time to impact, sixty seconds based on the information from the Harris and the Tetia. That makes their missiles almost twenty percent faster than ours," Lindert, the ECM officer said. Dannatt nodded.
Thirty seconds later. "Another four incoming."
"A3 is directing all its fire at us--eight per minute. That gives us a six missile advantage per minute, plus a thicker hull—I hope," Dannatt said to no one in particular. He wondered if this was their normal cruiser, or a Light, Light cruiser. He hoped not the latter. The cruisers they sent were bad enough.
"We only scored one hit. They are either very lucky or their ECM is the equivalent of ours," Parcell said, frowning at his monitor's display.
The Golden Eagle shuttered. "Damn their missiles. As the Harris reported, they turn off all electronics when they encounter chaff and then they're a bitch to target."
"Bay 21, open to air. Two Sharks destroyed, five killed," the Comm officer began summarizing the damage reports as they came in. The Golden Eagle was scoring the same as A3—one per minute—but incurring less damage due to its extra-thick battle steel. Twelve minutes later A3 appeared to lose power.
"Commander Labree, the Aliens ship has launched ten fighters. Release your Strikers."
"Strikers launched. Fifty seconds to contact," Labree said, after a short pause. Dannatt watched as the twenty Strikers met the Aliens' ten fighters.
"Captain, they are deliberately attempting to collide with the Strikers. We've killed three before they could; however, five succeeded and two are heading for the Eagle," Labree shouted. Lasers reached out and disabled one, but the other rammed the Eagle. The ship jerked as the explosion ripped through one of the weapon storage bays and destroyed two missile tubes. The remaining Strikers converged on A3. It was over in minutes, but the toll was heavy—four Strikers destroyed by Laser fire.
Dannatt stood dazed. In the course of fifteen minutes, one Light, Light cruiser had taken on a SAS Heavy scoring twelve hits out of the ninety-six launched, thirteen counting the fighter, and caused considerable damage. Only the Heavy's reinforced hull had limited the damage, and its greater throw weight had enabled a quick end to the battle.
"Captain Dannatt, What is your status." Wattson interrupted his thoughts.
"We're operational, but in need of major repairs."
"The Puma and Kestrel destroyed A2, but the Kestrel will have to be abandoned. It’s beyond repair. Captain Lambert said A2 directed all its missile fire against the Kestrel—over eighty missiles. He thinks, the Captain of A2 decided he couldn't win and chose most vulnerable cruiser. Equipped with the new Duster missiles, A2 only scored seven hits, far less per hundred than A1 had scored against the Harris and Tetia. He said the Kestrel would have survived, except A2's ten fighters ignored the Puma and attacked the Kestrel. The Kestrel Strikers with support from the Puma's Sharks destroyed seven but the remaining three managed to ram the Kestrel. We lost two Strikers and two Sharks."
Wattson was silent for a few minutes, before speaking.
"Tell Captain Lambert to collect the survivors from the Kestrel and then destroy the ship. We don't want to leave anything useful for the Aliens. They will undoubtedly send a task force when their scout ship doesn't return. The less they know the better off we are."
"Captain, the Eagle will retrieve the survivors and the wounded from the Tetia and Harris and destroy the Tetia. And I want A2 and A3 towed back to Freeland."
* * *
The scout ship had been an easy kill. The Eirene and the Mnemosyne had eased closer as the fighting raged on. Then as the battles ended and the scout ship began to retreat, we each fired one bank of six Demons. Eight struck, disabling the ship—shortly afterward S1 exploded. I wondered if the robots initiated t
he explosion.
* * *
On the ride back to Freeland, the mood on the Mnemosyne was sober. I had released Wattson's summary of the battle, and everyone had something to think or worry about: friends and comrades were on those ships, the unexpected power of the Aliens small ships, and the real battle to come. With nothing to do, I visited each section.
"Captain Reese," Seng greeted me as I entered the Scorpion's area. Terril and Seng had been discussing something when I interrupted. "Are you here for relaxation or is this official?"
"I wondered if you had any feedback from the … battle of Zigzag." That seemed an appropriate title.
"Some. From what Gunny and I have heard, the Aliens' cruisers where manned entirely by robots, and the corridors and work area had heat-sensor activated lasers. Ironically, they found no ship-killer switch. The boarding techniques Gunny developed saved a lot of lives. Thanks to that, no one was hurt during the boarding actions on A2 or A3. Their ships are nasty, but the robots don't appear violent or at least they weren't armed."
"Admiral Wattson is right. Information about the Aliens is critical, more so now that it appears their technology is superior to ours."
"Cheery thought, Captain," Terril said, frowning. "Ironically, most of us are counting on the Riss, which is weird considering how they hate war and killing."
