by Doug Farren
The two battle fleets took time to rescue the survivors from the damaged and destroyed ships. Three ships which had been damaged beyond repair were destroyed. Four hours later, the fleet set a course back to Olympus base leaving the still hot, intensely radioactive crater behind.
38
Losses
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===== January, 2069 (Terran calendar) =====
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Captain Shoomut was half-way through his meal when the communications panel emitted a beep. He reached over and hit the reply button. “Shoomut.”
“We have just received urgent orders from fleet command. We have been ordered to proceed with all possible speed to outpost 418. Part of the message is encrypted for your eyes only.”
“Very well. Alter course and make best speed to outpost 418.”
Shoomut cut another large piece off his New York strip steak (an Earth delicacy he had grown to enjoy), popped it into his mouth, and then moved over to his computer console. After a moment at the keyboard the decrypted message appeared on his monitor. He read it twice then used the console to call his second officer to his stateroom. A couple minutes later there was a knock at the door.
The junior officer entered the captain’s stateroom, eyed the steak with unrestrained disgust, and said, “Reporting as requested captain.”
Shoomut, as was his right as the superior officer, remained seated and continued to eat while he talked. Shoomut pointed toward the computer console with an empty fork and said, “Read that and tell me what you think it says.”
Fenta Arglaomba stood in front of the console and read the decrypted message for himself. He faced his captain and said, “In summary, it says that all communication with outpost 418 has been lost. Prior to the loss only routine communications had been received with no indication of anything amiss. We have been ordered to investigate.”
“Conclusions?” Shoomut asked as he chewed on a bit of gristle.
“Outpost 418 is on the edge of Human space. Based upon the recent outbreak of hostilities between the various Human nations and considering that the Humans have objected to the base in the past it is conceivable that they have mounted an attack against it.”
Shoomut swallowed what he had been chewing and asked, “Do you actually think that the Humans are capable of mounting a successful attack against one of our bases?”
Arglaomba shifted uneasily on his feet. “No sir. But, why else would we be ordered to proceed to the outpost at maximum speed?”
“One more question first,” Shoomut replied glaring at his second officer. “The base would have detected the approaching Human fleet long before they could have jammed any communications and fleet would have been aware of the attack. Instead, we have been told that nothing out of the ordinary has been reported and all communications with the outpost have suddenly stopped. Given this information, what are your conclusions now?”
Arglaomba stood in silent thought for several seconds. A smile appeared on his face as he said, “It’s a drill. Fleet must be running some sort of sector-wide drill to ensure that we are ready in case the Humans are foolish enough to mount an attack.”
“Very good!” Shoomut replied pushing the now empty plate away from him. “I would not be surprised if we are presented with a mock battle scenario when we arrive. Run some unannounced battle station drills while we are en route to make sure the crew is ready.”
“Yes captain.”
* * * * *
Shoomut was on the bridge as the ship approached outpost 418. “Still no response from the outpost,” the communications operator reported.
“Tactical?”
“We will be in detector range of the base in three minutes. Scans of the system so far show no signs of any ships.”
“None?” This fact got Shoomut’s attention. He knew that at least eight warships were permanently assigned to the outpost. Unless all eight had left their station they should have been able to detect at least one of them.
“I detect no ships anywhere within detector range. I am, however, picking up some strange radiation readings from the moon. At this range I cannot pinpoint the location nor can I provide any additional data.”
“Very well.” Shoomut entered a command into his console and the bridge’s main screen switched from the standard navigational chart to the tactical display. A few minutes later the long range detectors started to return some meaningful data. As the details became clearer Shoomut’s jaw became tighter.
An hour later, the cruiser orbited the moon directly above the crater where outpost 418 had once been. Not long ago he had ordered several shuttles launched to conduct a detailed examination of the debris they had detected. He had done this to confirm what his detectors had told him and what he still refused to believe. This could not have been caused by Humans. Some other race must have attacked the outpost and for some reason was trying to blame it on the Humans.
Shoomut heard the door to the bridge slide open. He spun his chair around, confirmed that it was his chief science officer who had entered, and said, “What did you find?”
“We found the remains of several Humans among the debris. A detailed analysis of the debris has also confirmed that it originated from a Human warship. Our scans have positively identified the remains of two of our heavy cruisers. Both were completely destroyed by a weapon of immense power. The wreckage of many Human ships has also been confirmed.”
“Eight warships were assigned to this base,” Shoomut countered. “Have you any indication as to where they may be? Were they not here protecting this base?”
“I cannot answer your questions at this time commander. The whereabouts of the other ships is currently unknown.”
“I still cannot believe that this attack was carried out by Humans,” Shoomut replied gripping the padded arm of his command chair hard enough to cause it to creak. “They are a violent and unpredictable race but this verges on insanity! How could the Humans have overwhelmed the base’s defense system? They simply don’t have the weapons capability.”
“Commander, the evidence is overwhelming. The Humans are responsible for this attack. It is possible that they have somehow managed to develop some type of weapon which is capable of over powering our defenses. There have been rumors.”
Shoomut turned and glared at the science officer. “Rumors are for those who who lack the ability to understand the facts. You had better be absolutely certain of your conclusions. After I transmit our findings to fleet command the retribution will be swift and decisive. There will be no turning back.”
The science officer stood his ground. “I am certain commander. I would stake my life on the validity of these findings.”
Shoomut slowly turned away, knowing full well what his next order would set into motion. “I will personally hold you to that promise. Communications!”
The communications operator turned his chair slightly and looked at his captain. Shoomut took chewed his lower lip for a moment as he considered the ramifications of what he was about to do. Looking back at his science officer he said, “Prepare a transmission to fleet. Include all of our scan records since entering the system. I will dictate a personal message in my quarters which you will attach before transmitting.”
Shoomut propelled himself out of his chair and made his way to his stateroom. The Tholtaran who had made first contact with the Human race was about to condemn it to death.
* * * * *
“She’s big sir. I make her out to be at least the size of a battleship.”
“Tholtaran warship, we are escorting an unarmed freighter. Alter course immediately or we will be forced to engage.” Captain D’Marco released the transmit button knowing the threat he had just made carried no weight. His ship was hopelessly out gunned.
He noted the lack of response from the approaching warship and began to bark orders. “Comms, order the freighter to alter course; one nine six mark eleven. A
s soon as that’s done send our sitrep to sector command. Tactical, charge the sledgehammers. If they manage to knock us into normal space you may fire as soon as they are within range. Helm, prepare to roll the ship.”
The state of war between the Tholtaran Republic and Earth had been broadcast to all Human ships and all warships had been recalled to Earth in anticipation of a Tholtaran attack. All nonmilitary vessels had been advised to alter course to the nearest port that would allow them to safely dock.
The ES Nevada had been escorting a large freighter from a Shandarian world when the transmission had reached them. Because of their location, the two captains had decided to continue their journey toward Earth. The Nevada was still many days distant and in deep space.
Captain D’Marco wondered how the Tholtarans were planning to force him back into normal space. As long as his ship maintained an operational stardrive field, it did not exist in normal space and therefore was immune to all types of weapons. The tactical display showed the Tholtaran ship on an intercept course that would put it just in front of the Nevada.
A second after the enemy warship had passed in front of them there was a sickening jar and the captain suddenly realized that something had forced them to drop to normal space. “What the hell just happened?” he yelled.
The tactical officer’s head moved back and forth over his console as he rapidly assimilated the data the computer was feeding him. “Some type of strong gravitational field generator was dropped in front of us sir. It was strong enough to disrupt our drive field. Tholtaran ship is in normal space and approaching at high speed!”
The Nevada opened fire first with all available weapons. Its missiles were swatted away like so many bothersome insects. Its beams produced a colorful display against the Tholtaran shield but lacked the power to do much else. The sledgehammers, as powerful as they were, were unable to penetrate the Tholtaran's superior shield.
The battleship closed the distance then returned fire. It held nothing back. Sixteen beams of concentrated energy crashed into the Nevada's shield. It held for precisely one point four seconds. The beams then encountered the armor plating which dissolved away under the terrific onslaught of focused hell. A few seconds later the hull was breached
The Tholtarans took their time and sliced the Human ship into several pieces. Each piece was then beamed into smaller pieces until all that was left was a cloud of particles.
The battleship turned toward the fleeing freighter and engaged its stardrive. Seconds later it caught up with the unarmed ship. The captain frantically signaled the Tholtaran ship, “We are unarmed! We are unarmed! This is a civilian ship.”
“Human ship,” the Tholtaran captain replied. “You will drop to normal space and prepare to be boarded. You will offer no resistance and you will follow our instructions without hesitation. Is this clear?”
“Very…Dropping to normal space now.” The freighter was boarded and the crew taken into custody. The battleship fired a single shot at the deserted ship destroying its FTL core and a good portion of its cargo. The Tholtarans had a rather strict code of war. They would utterly destroy any military vessel without regard to the crew. They were, after all, the enemy. They would not, however, attack unarmed civilians. It was beneath them.
* * * * *
The door to the conference room softly closed behind the World President. Upon his entrance everyone at the conference table had stood. The President took his place at the table, sat down, and said, “Admiral Hunt, give us a complete update on everything that has happened since our successful attack on Tholtaran outpost 418.”
There was a soft rustle of clothes and the sound of sliding chairs as everyone else took their seats. The leaders of the most powerful nations on Earth were seated at this one table. They were here to discuss the strategy for defending Earth against the coming Tholtaran attack. Everyone knew it was inevitable but nobody could predict when it might happen. For all they knew, there was a Tholtaran fleet bearing down on Earth at this very moment.
Admiral Hunt had remained standing. “Twenty-one days ago we retaliated against the Tholtarans in response to an unmitigated attack upon our Olympus shipyard. The attack was a success ending in the complete obliteration of the Tholtaran base. The Tholtarans did nothing for over two weeks then suddenly we began loosing ships. Over the past ten days we have lost communication with a total of fifteen ships. All were inbound from beyond Human space. Eleven of them were escorting civilian ships back to Earth.
“Yesterday we received a message from an Omel ship saying that it had encountered the destroyed remains of one of our cruisers. The freighter it was escorting had been disabled. According to the freighter’s logs, a Tholtaran warship first destroyed the cruiser then took the freighter’s crew prisoner. As far as we can determine, the crew was not harmed.”
“That would be consistent with what I’ve learned of Tholtaran military doctrine,” a small, oriental, man dressed in an immaculate suit chimed in. His name was Doctor Shen Wang, a recognized expert in alien cultures. “The Tholtaran military will not normally attack unarmed civilians unless there is an overwhelming reason to do so. They will continue to respect this doctrine as long as we do the same.”
The admiral nodded his head toward the doctor. “Thank you Doctor Shen. If I may continue…The Tholtarans have also destroyed five small military communication stations. Amazingly, no other facilities have so far been attacked including the base on Pucker-8.”
Pucker-8 was the Human base that had been built in response to the construction of outpost 418. It had acquired its rather unusual name from the personnel who had been assigned there. It was located on a tiny moon orbiting the eighth planet of the system which is where the numerical designation came from. The primary name came from the fact that most of the people who knew about the base were of the opinion that it was built in large part because of the ‘pucker factor’ caused by the Tholtaran base.
“What about our ships and people outside of Human space?” the Russian President asked.
The World President decided to answer this one. The admiral sat down as the President replied, “Although there are no official channels of communications between us and the Consortium, I have received word through other sources that most Humans have been given safe haven until this crises has passed.”
“I have heard,” the British Prime Minister added, “That the Tholtarans are denying that they started this war. They are claiming that it was us, and not them, that attacked first.”
“We have heard the same,” the President replied. “To be honest, it baffles me as to why.”
“Can we not ask the other races of the Consortium to intervene?” This from the Supreme Sultan of the United Arab Nations.
“I have tried, but every race I have approached refuses to get involved. As far as they are concerned this is between us and the Tholtarans. I’m afraid we are on our own.”
“We are still at a technological disadvantage,” Zong Qinghou, the Chinese leader, said. “There are rumors of scientists at Olympus working on pieces of the defeated Tholtaran ships. Are these rumors true? Has anything been learned?”
The American President smiled as the World President gestured in his direction. “As a matter of fact, there is good news. A few hours ago I received word that we have managed to reverse engineer some of their shield technology. From what I’ve been told, the modifications necessary to improve our shield strength by forty percent are relatively minor and can be done in a few hours in the field. By the end of the day our ships should be better able to protect themselves.”
“That will help a little,” Zong continued to argue his point. “But, we are up against a race that has had stardrive for far longer than we have. Their ships are better armed and better shielded than ours. We also have no idea as to how many ships the Tholtarans possess. This is not a war we can win.”
“Are you suggesting we surrender before the fight has even begun?” the Prime Minister blurted out unable to believe that
the idea had even been suggested.
“That would be very unwise,” Wang quickly interrupted before the President had answered.
President Steeples had opened his mouth to reply to the Chinese President’s remark, changed his mind and said, “Explain. Not that I’m considering offering to surrender but I want to know why it’s not an option.”
“The Tholtarans have a very long history of warfare among themselves,” Wang replied. “Over the centuries, they’ve developed a rigid code of warfare ethics. The ban against the killing of unarmed civilians is one example. The Tholtaran language as it existed a century ago doesn't have a word in it that translates to surrender. When two declared enemies met to do battle that battle was fought without reservation until one side was victorious and all combatants on the enemy side were killed or rendered incapable of fighting.”
“So you're telling me that the Tholtarans don't even understand the concept of surrender?”
“Modern Tholtarans do understand the concept. But, to surrender would be considered an act of cowardice.”
“So what would they do if we were to surrender?” The World President asked again.
“That's not an easy question to answer. A cowardly person or race is looked upon with unrestrained disgust. The best we could hope for would be for every Human to be reduced to the level of slaves. We would have no military, no ships, no rights, and no status what-so-ever for a very long time. Like it or not, we are committed to this war.”
“So we are screwed no matter how we look at it,” the Australian President shook his head. “We can't surrender or we will be enslaved and we can't fight because we can't win.”
The Chinese leader tapped his fingers on the table top then asked, “How did the Tholtarans keep from killing off their entire race? There must be some mechanism that allows former enemies to discuss the terms necessary to end hostilities?”
