by PP Corcoran
Without moving his eyes from the tactical hologram that showed the Turak flotilla, Novara called out to his Tactical section. "Tactical, tell me you’re getting all this."
"Yes, Sub-leader. All data recorders are running... Standby! Aspect change! The Turak flotilla is dispersing... it looks like they intend on carrying out a sweep of the entire system, Sub-leader."
Novara had no intention of letting the Turak find him. "Navigation. Plot us a course for home and fold when ready." Novara sat back in his command chair with a sense of satisfaction edged with apprehension. The Chancellor had been correct in his decision to send the Hovval to keep watch on the Turak. The sensor data they had managed to gather was a veritable gold mine for the intelligence analysts, who would hopefully use it to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both the Turak and the mysterious black-finned warships. The appearance of the second flotilla of Turak ships was an unexpected bonus that had given them good sensor reads of the larger elements of the Turak fleet. The Chancellor’s gamble had been well worth it. Time now to head home with their winnings. The familiar disorientation of the shift into fold space enveloped Novara as the Hovval vanished from the Selene system.
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DAGGER STATION - ASTEROID BELT - GARUNDA SYSTEM
Rear Admiral Pallas was quietly pleased with the progress the construction crew were making on the station that would be the lynch pin in the defense of the Garundan system, not that he would ever let them know this. The Garundan admiral was always an unwelcome sight as he conducted his unannounced spot inspections of the nearly completed station and more than one construction foreman had been the object of his scathing remarks when one piece of welding or siting of framework was not up to his standards of excellence. Pallas cared naught for what the builders of Dagger Station thought of him. Garunda may still not have the vast industrial or technological base of some of the other planets of the Commonwealth, which was why Dagger Station was built in the system’s asteroid belt rather than the Kuiper belt like its Terran equivalent, Gateway Station. No matter. He was determined to ensure his station would be seen as a shining example of how far Garundan technology had come from when humans had first introduced the people of Garunda to the wonders of space travel. Garunda would be forever in their debt. It was a measure of the high regard in which his planet and his people held the humans that this very station was named for the human frigate whose captain and crew had risked their very lives in the First Battle of Garunda to prevent the Others from laying waste to his home world.
With a touch of a key, his desk and the seat he was on began to rotate ninety degrees and one entire wall of his office receded into the roof to expose the humming brain of Dagger Station. The Central Operations room. Located at the very core of the massive station, rows of terminals manned entirely by native Garundans filled the expansive room, which was broken down into four key sections. One area was responsible for traffic control. Maneuvering and prioritizing shipping that intended to proceed sun-wards toward the inner system, or transship their cargo in one of the hundreds of large docking ports adorning the skin of the station. Another section commanded the growing fields of weapons platforms armed with ten centimeter grazers, high velocity anti-ship and anti-missile missiles and, more importantly, the buoys which generated the disruption field and which allowed no gravity drive ship to operate beyond the asteroid belt and extending inward to blanket the entire inner system. When completed, these weapons would form the outer shell of the station’s defensive belt. Pallas still considered it an error not to equip the station with a Garundan home-grown version of a space fighter as the humans had their Gateway Station, but the men who held the purse strings informed the navy point-blank that there simply was not the money at this time to design and build a Garundan space fighter, so that was the end of the argument. A third section of the room housed the operators who controlled the station’s integral weapons systems. Mounted on the hull of the station were over 200 heavy grazers, the like of which was found only on the heaviest Nemesis class battleship. Complementing the array of energy weapons were the armored missile silos, which covered the outer hull like sea barnacles. Their missiles were easily capable of hitting a target out to a range of three million kilometers from the station. And finally, there was the Engineering section, which ensured the vital organs of the station, the power plants which supplied the light and heating, the atmospheric recycling plants which provided air for all aboard to breathe and the thousand and one other things which were required to sustain life in the inhospitable habitat of space. This station would be the most powerful piece of military hardware anywhere in the quadrant when it was completed. The thought brought a frown to Pallas' forehead. He knew more than most that until the station was completed, it was still vulnerable. This was why he had requested Vice Admiral Kerta to station elements of Third Fleet adjacent to Dagger Station until such time as Pallas was satisfied the station was fit to take over the role of guardian to the gateway of the Garundan system. The sight of BatFor 3.2 floating serenely 500,000 kilometers from the station was one Pallas was glad to see. Only another three or four months, and the station would be able to dispense with their protection. Pallas sighed quietly to himself as he touched the key that would lower the wall back into place while he returned to the reports that were stacked on his terminal and seemed to grow more numerous every day.
A few tedious hours later and Pallas was ready for a break. The digital clock showed it was early afternoon and the admiral decided to sample the fare of the officers’ mess. Closing down his terminal, he stood and stretched his weary muscles. Too much time sitting at your desk, Pallas he berated himself mentally, promising himself an hour in the gym later in the day. He headed out of his office and it was only a short walk to the elevator bank, which would whisk him up the twelve levels to the mess. He was a few short steps from the elevator when the screaming of the battle station’s alarm resounded down the corridor. Spinning on his heel, he quickly retraced his steps, entering Central Operations just as the solid weight of the battle armor door slid into place with a loud bang, sealing the room off from the outside. Striding through the sea of sailors still scrambling to their posts, Pallas made a beeline for the duty command officer’s position located on a raised gantry giving them a commanding view of the entire room.
Commander Oolas was the duty officer this shift and as Pallas approached he could see Oolas’ head darting from side to side as he rattled off orders into his pick-up while his fingers were a blur on his terminal’s keypad as he tried desperately to assess all the information threatening to swamp him. Pallas stepped up beside him and his experienced eye quickly assessed the situation. A large group of ships that the computers were designating warships had entered normal space two million kilometers from the station. Sensors indicated a surge in power output indicative of weapons systems coming on line. BatFor 3.2 was coming to battle stations in response as every freighter that thought it might end up in the line of fire was maneuvering wildly to clear the combat area. According to the terminals tell-tales, the fields of weapons platforms were bringing their grazers to full power and the missile platforms were signaling they were ready to accept targeting data. Weapons crew on the station itself were buttoning up as fast as they could and slowly but surely the status lights were blinking from standby to ready. Pallas tapped a key on his wrist comm, patching him into the command net. The sudden cacophony of voices made him flinch involuntarily. It seemed like every captain of every ship, be it military or civilian, was attempting to speak at the same time, with the result that one call was cutting up the preceding call, so no one could get a complete message through. Scanning the board in front of him, Pallas found the key he was looking for and depressed it with gratefully. Instantly, all conversation ceased as the powerful transmitters of the station blanketed the airwaves with an ear-piercing two second whine. This was the warning that a priority transmission was imminent and all others were to cease their use of the communications link.
"Attention all ships. A number of unidentified vessels have entered the military exclusion zone. Until such times as their intentions can be clarified, all civilian shipping is to forthwith move into staging areas Alpha and Gamma and await further instructions. That is all. Dagger Station clear."
As the civilian traffic moved to comply with his instructions, Pallas turned his attention back to his unannounced visitors.
"Computers are calling them fourteen battleships, twenty cruisers, and thirty-two smaller ships, possibly destroyers or frigates, Admiral. BatFor 3.2 is moving to intercept and Admiral Tolo is transmitting in the clear that he welcomes them to Garunda and requests they state their intentions...."
Pallas was mesmerized by the ships’ strange flattened hulls with the vertical pylons extending above and below the main body. Their color of space-black made it hard to make any details out by eye alone. When Oolas stopped his report in mid-sentence he turned his head to see a confused look cross the commander’s face. "Something wrong, Commander?"
Oolas worked his terminal for another few seconds before replying. "Fire Control are having a hard time getting a solid lock sir... We're not detecting any active ECM from them but something is definitely interfering with our systems..."
Pallas leaned closer to the commander’s shoulder to check the computer readouts himself when, without warning, the intruders opened fire. The battleships’ energy weapons reached out across the distance separating them from BatFor 3.2 and wherever they touched they left devastation in their wake. Two Nemesis battleships were pierced through and through by thick, green beams and in a heartbeat they and their crews were nothing more than expanding clouds of debris.
Pallas struggled to keep his voice level as he gave his next order. "Platform weapons free, Commander. Fire at will."
Seconds passed slowly as the order to fire was transmitted to the platforms and in those vital seconds another three Garundan ships shook and shuddered before succumbing to the lethal, energy fire and exploding in violent fireballs, the remains spinning off into the night.
But the enemy did not get it all their own way. Individual ships of BatFor 3.2 began to return fire, fire which increased rapidly as ship after ship joined in. Energy fire crisscrossed the space between the two fleets, the distance closing as BatFor 3.2 pressed closer and closer.
"Where are my platforms, Commander? We need to get into this fight!" Shouted Pallas in frustration.
"We can't get a target lock, Admiral!" Cried Oolas.
More Garundan ships fell to the black monsters who just hung there, holding their ground, making no attempt to maneuver. An action that flew in the face of all the rules of space warfare. Well, if they are just going to sit there in one big bunch, thought Pallas.
"Forget targeting individual ships. Concentrate your energy fire on the center of mass and fire. Flush the missiles and program them for proximity detonation. If we don't do something soon, then our ships are finished."
Finally the station’s weapons platforms belched fire into the heart of the enemy. A single, hapless enemy battleship was unlucky enough to be at the intersection of the massed ten centimeter grazers. The resulting explosion briefly illuminated that entire section of space as if it possessed its own mini star before dissipating.
"They are moving, Admiral! Headed straight for us"
"What about the missiles, Commander? How much damage are they doing?"
"Ah... minimal, sir. We have confirmed detonations but we are seeing no damage to the enemy ships. Sensors are reporting what appears to be some sort of strange energy field enveloping each ship. It’s deflecting the blasts."
"And our ships?"
When Oolas failed to answer, Pallas grabbed him by the arm and shook him. "Commander! Our ships, what are they doing?"
Pallas watched in horror as the blood drained from Oolas’ face. "They’re gone, sir. They have all been destroyed."
Pallas released the commander’s arm and used his now free hand to steady himself against the terminal, his mind numbed by the news that an entire BatFor had just been erased from existence in front of his eyes. His gaze fell to the status boards and the gaggle of freighters in the staging areas. If the intruders could defeat top of the line Garundan warships so easily, the freighters would be easy meat. Reaching past the commander, Pallas keyed the all-ships link.
"Attention all ships. This is Admiral Pallas, Commanding Officer Dagger Station. You are ordered to evacuate this area of space at best speed. I do not believe we can contain the enemy ships. Good luck. Pallas clear."
"Vampire! Vampire! Enemy missile separation!" Pallas’ head snapped up at the call and he focused on the tactical display, expecting to see waves of missiles headed toward the station. Instead, a single, blinking red icon closed rapidly on the station. Laser defense clusters spun in their turrets to engage the approaching missile but once more the computers failed to get a solid lock and so refused to fire. Oolas moved to command the computers to override and use barrage fire to bring down the missile, but it was too late.
The flash of light was reminiscent of a mini supernova as the anti-matter warhead detonated and the millions of tonnes of space station representing the peak of Garundan technological and engineering innovation was swallowed whole by the wave of superheated plasma and expanding gas. The pressure wave expanded rapidly from the point of detonation and struck those civilian freighters which had not immediately heeded the admiral’s warning. Their hulls crumpled and broke apart before being swept into the asteroid belt with the wave which turned mountains of rock into dust as it passed.
The silent, black intruders sat perfectly still as the all-powerful wave approached them. The wave roared over them and continued on its way to reveal the black ships sitting as pristine as they had been before the wave engulfed them. A faint sparkling-like residual electricity flickering along their hulls.
Without a word, the black fleet pivoted and accelerated into fold space.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Seeds of Confusion
PARS - PERSEUS ARM - 6400 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH
Force Leader Tolas was ushered into the private office of Chancellor Volak for what Tolas believed was an unscheduled security briefing of the Chancellor following the attack on the Garundan system two days previously. Two days, which had seen Tolas travel aboard the lead Persai cruiser of the flotilla which the Chancellor authorized deployed at the request of the Commonwealth Council. Earth, Janus, and Benii had all made similar gestures of support and now a full Commonwealth fleet patrolled the space around the Garundan system while Garunda's own Third Fleet in orbit around Garunda remained on high alert. Tensions were running high throughout the Commonwealth and Tolas had been forced to squash rumors among his own staff that perhaps these mysterious black ships were some form of Alonan Empire secret weapon or possibly a Turak first strike. Having seen the devastation in Garunda for himself, Tolas requisitioned a courier ship to take him to Earth, where he met with the Chairman of the Combined Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Jing. The meeting had seen more level heads discuss the situation. The sensor data which had been hastily cobbled together from the civilian freighters which survived the attack had been analyzed and it quickly become apparent that these black ships were of the same design and gave off the same power signatures as those which carried out the massacre of the Alonan colonists on Balat eight months previously. As far as Jing was concerned, this ruled out the Empire as a likely suspect. This then only left the Turak or an as-yet-unknown third party. Tolas and the other members of the Joint Chiefs could not fault Jing's logic but that still did not solve the strategic problem of where this enemy may strike next. The meeting ended with the unanimous decision to increase patrolling among the colonies bordering Turak and Commonwealth space, while bringing the various home fleets to an increased state of preparedness. With nothing further to be done at this stage, Tolas boarded a ship and returned to Pars to review his own fleet’s defensive posture and update the Chancellor.
Perhaps it was the two days of traveling interspersed with the intense meetings and staff planning sessions, but as Tolas entered the room, he did not immediately notice the small, for a Persai, figure of Caran, head of the Persai intelligence service, seated in the shadow of the open door. As it swung closed, Caran literally jumped to his feet to welcome Tolas, startling him and getting Caran a fanged, deep throated growl before Tolas recognized him and realized he was in no danger.
"My apologies, Chancellor, Caran. I expected to be meeting with you alone."
Chancellor Volak let out a short, barking laugh. "No apology required, Force Leader Tolas. Caran here seems to excel in surprising people and it is for this very reason that I have called you here today. Please sit. Caran, if you would."
"Of course, Chancellor." Tolas took his seat, wondering what nugget of intelligence the spy chief was in possession of which got him a private audience with the Chancellor and the head of the Persai armed forces. Caran remained standing, taking a step to one side to clear the floor-mounted holographic projector, while drawing a small control from his sleeve as he did so. The image of the four black ships that had carried out the raid on the world of Balat appeared.
"Chancellor..." began Caran. "These are the images supplied to us by the Humans of the ships the surveillance platform observed in the Balat system, some 60000 light years from Pars. At this stage, I have no doubts as to the veracity of these images..."
"I'm sorry, but why would we even consider doubting these images? The Humans are our allies. We fought side by side with them throughout the long war against the Others," interrupted Tolas, a tone of incomprehension in his voice.
