Secret of the Crystal - Omnibus Edition Books 1-3 (Time Travel Adventure)

by Larson, Brian K.

  Telenian – Approaching Ackturra

  Year: 2983

  The Telenian remained in slipstream for as long as possible, knowing full well the fleet wouldn’t be detectable at close range until they did drop out to normal velocity.

  “Sir,” Panru’s helmsman said with a rather shaky voice, “we are getting dangerously close to the planet… Recommend dropping out of slipstream.”

  “Hold steady,” Panru replied as he sat forward on the edge of his chair, drumming his fingers on the arm, “Wait, wait,” he continued as he counted down in his mind, “Now!” Panru shouted, “shields up! Turn hard about! Arm weapons and fire on the station.”

  The Telenian exited slipstream and turned ninety degrees into the upper thermosphere, using the ships inertia to bounce off toward the general direction of defense platform. The ship slid across the planetary shielding slightly below the platform and opened fire. The cruisers full complement of weapons batteries fired

  synchronously hitting its target with precision accuracy.

  “Bulls eye!” Panru once exclaimed. “Continue firing… set collision course… arm ram shields.”

  “Aye sir… full power to engines… ram shields activated!” the helm and tactical replied.

  Panru again shouted with adrenaline, “Computer, override safety protocols, maintain collision course… ram shield maneuver, Panru Platform Alpha one… Brace for impact…”

  The Telenian’s thrusters fired and shot out red and orange fire which burned against the planetary shielding creating a brilliant light show for the southern fleet now pulling out of slipstream and position there arrival to punch through the shielding before another defense platform could reposition to close the gap.

  The defense platform had little time to prepare for the imminent attack, firing all its weapons systems at the Telenian only hitting them twice. The Telenian’s shielding held while they continued their ram shields run at the platform.

  The Remedy was the first ship to exit slipstream with the Eastern as back up. The carrier launched one hundred and fifteen fighters and flew ahead to engage any hostiles from any of the orbiting platforms.

  The remaining destroyers all exited slipstream and headed in for their attack run at the orbiting platform.

  “Telenian!” Acoth yelled into the com channel. “What are you doing? I said no heroics… you were only to draw their fire!”

  The Telenian hit the center of the platform just below the shield generator and ripped a hole straight through their reactor core. They jettisoned from the opposite side of the platform leaving behind a wave of fire and explosions. The platform listed downward, toward the planet, as it lost its ability to maintain orbit. The huge defense platform broke into several sections. More explosions erupted as it began to burn in the upper atmosphere leaving a gaping hole in the planetary shield grid.

  The Telenian shot out of orbit with its ship completely intact. They turned around and slowed, meeting up with the arriving destroyers.

  “And that is how it is done!” Panru answered his commanding officer.

  “Nicely done though…” Acoth said in amazement, “But you did agree to only draw their fire… we could have taken that out…”

  “What is done is done, sir,” Panru offered, “you and I both know that it would have taken much longer to punch through to the planet if I did not ram her… the other platforms are already repositioning to close the gap… but they will not

  be able to fully close it without creating more holes that could be breached.”

  “I know, but it was a risky move… we cannot afford losing more ships, even though we thought that your mission could have been suicide…”

  “We must prepare for our next move commander,” Panru said, “Jhovahkan will likely be upon us in a short time.”

  “Agreed… open a channel to the rest of the fleet.”

  Acoth continued by addressing his fleet after the channel had been opened, “I will take the Hawk down… Telenian, you are with me for cover.”

  “Aye, sir,” Panru answered.

  Acoth’s destroyer and the Telenian broke formation and headed to the planet’s atmosphere.

  “Griffin,” he continued, “position your ship behind Minos… Remedy, order your first wave of fighters to accompany the Griffin… launch your second wave and move them to defend this position… Eastern, position your ship beneath and in close proximity to the carrier… make yourself invisible to their scanners… they will see the Remedy as one ship and half their fighters defending.”

  “Aye, sir!” they all acknowledged.

  “The Telenian and Hawk will fly to the palace and retake it. Once we secure the palace,

  our ships can rejoin the fight when the Northern faction arrives… Everyone, keep on your toes… we only have about one to two hours before we engage the north… Good luck everyone!” with that, he signed off of the com channel.

  * * *

  Leif Erikson

  En Route for Ackturra

  ETA: One Hour Thirty Minutes

  Year: 2983

  “So… what’s this new device you have ‘invented’ my good doctor?” Jhahnahkan said as they entered the medical bay.

  Sam was busy at his science station running computer simulations. “Come on over here.” Doctor Collins said as he studied the output. He turned, breaking his concentration after a moment and addressed Jhahnahkan and his guest.

  “It’s an improvement… or should I say I hope it’s an improvement…”

  “Alright, get on with it…”

  “This device,” Sam began, turning to his workbench, “is based on the Cerebellum Quasiinducer collars… but on a larger scale… more wide spread… I can flood an entire area with this single device.”

  “Now that’s great… how many resources do you need to get these built?”

  “Well… not that many… but…”

  “Ok, what’s the problem?”

  “I need a smaller, more powerful power source. I keep burning out circuits.”

  Milanaka gave Jhahnahkan a stab in the side, “If you had some Rune material…”

  “…you could make a power supply…” Jhahnahkan finished.

  Sam reached around and picked up the container that once held Jhovahkan’s infected crystal. He held it up before them and explained that when Jhovahkan reclaimed his crystal, he didn’t break the seal. The crystal turned to a liquid state and passed through the container and reformed in his hand. There was some Rune material that was left behind.

  “Milanaka, do you think this is enough?” Sam asked.

  He examined the container for a moment and then gave a nod that this would do. Milanaka provided the list of items he would need and they busily assembled the parts per his instructions.

  Sam took the finished product that looked like a cylinder with a set of tripod legs with an antenna protruding from the top. He switched it on and the lights on the side panel lit up. There was quiet in the room as they waited to see if the power supply would be stable.

  “So far… so good,” Sam said looking intently at his creation.

  He began scanning the surrounding area and reported that the waves are being transmitted for about a ten-foot radius.

  “Increasing power output now…” he said as he cautiously turned up the power on the remote in his hand.

  The device whined and whirred with the increased power, but remained stable. Sam measured the effect in the room and discovered that with only a ten percent increase in output the field strength increased to a fifty-foot diameter.

  “It is increasing the beam output exponentially…” Sam said with pride.

  “Excellent… when we finally meet up with Tamika and once this is device is activated, the Rune infection will diminish its effect on her…” Jhahnahkan said, “in fact, on anyone affected that enters the area… wrap it up and load it on a shuttle.”

  “But this is only a proto type… we need more time to test…” Sam answered with genuine concern
.

  “We don’t have time as a luxury… we will have to hope that this works… it is really our only chance to subdue my sister…” he said patting the doctor on the back. “You did great work here Sam…”

  The two began to exit to return to the bridge to make final preparations for their return to Ackturra.

  Sam grabbed Milanaka by the collar and pulled him back. “Wait just a moment their sir… I have some tests that I need to perform…”

  “Tests?!” he exclaimed. “What kind of tests? I didn’t sign up to be stuck, prodded, and probed, now…”

  “Now, now sir… it won’t hurt a bit… just some ‘blood’ samples. I hope to find a commonality between your blood and Luanren’s to see why you both are immune.”

  Jhahnahkan laughed and shook his head at the two as he left the medical bay.

  “Thirty Minutes remaining captain,” Rex informed Jhahnahkan over the com system.

  “I’m on my way to the bridge now,” he answered.

  * * *

  Northern Fleet

  En-Route to Ackturra

  ETA: Five Minutes

  Jhovahkan stood on the bridge of the Kalentun still in disbelief that the southern faction actually pulled off a serious blow to the north. He watched the colors fly by the front view, mesmerized by the beautiful array all he could do was meditate on his next plan of action.

  “Drop the fleet out of slipstream, slow to minimal velocity,” Jhovahkan said, his voice sounding sure and confidant. He knew in his own mind what was to take place, or that is, what his crystal had been revealing. “Scan the region,” he barked as the fleet dropped out of slipstream. Ackturra was only minutes away as he commanded the fleet to navigate through the massive debris field that had been left behind from the first battle.

  “I want to make sure no one is hiding in there with any of the remains of the southern fleet’s first failed battle,” he said returning to his captain’s chair. He punched a few buttons and read the output from the scanning report, “Inform the fleet that we will remain under the crystal net until we locate the rest of the southern fleet. Then and only then…” he cautioned, “…will we engage our southern brethren.”

  “Scans indicate there is a carrier just beyond Minos…” his tactical officer indicated, “They have over a hundred fighters swarming them for protection…”

  Hmmm, Jhovahkan thought, What do you suppose that means?

  “I see a viable target,” R’ihia said, “I say we move in closer and open fire… take out the carrier with all we have… then reinitiate the crystal net. The fighters will only be able to do minimal damage before we are protected by the net’s invisibility.”

  “Definitely an option from my point of view,” Jhovahkan said, acknowledging his first officer, “but I think we need to locate the rest of them… it could be a trap…” Jhovahkan turned to

  Ghaia. “Mother, what do you feel?”

  Ghaia closed her eyes and thought for a moment on the question, and then she turned to her son and opened her eyes, “It is a trap.” She said emphatically as she stared into her son’s eyes.

  The two held each other with a stillness in their minds for a moment, “I trust your intuition implicitly, mother. Therefore, my orders to the fleet are for them to continue scanning the sector and monitor any activity around the carrier.”

  “Sir,” R’ihia began, “Might I suggest a small reconnaissance mission?”

  “What did you have in mind?” he asked with curiosity.

  “Launch one fighter and blend in… change the markings; we might gain some good intelligence on fleet positions before they would detect us as a spy.”

  “You are asking someone to volunteer for a suicide mission?”

  “Yes, sir,” she answered firmly. “For the good of the north, sir.”

  “I would never ask someone to ‘volunteer’

  for such a mission…” he said with a sheepish grin.”

  “Sir?”

  “No… I would say more like an assignment,” he finished as he looked R’ihia in the eye. His mother smiling with him as she fully knew what his next words would be, “You my dear…”

  “Sir?”

  “Your idea… your plan… you execute.”

  “Oh, marvelous!” Ghaia said with glee. “This is just getting simply marvelous.”

  R’ihia and Jhovahkan looked at each other and then back at Ghaia with a puzzled look about them.

  “I foresee a positive outcome in this endeavor…” she said looking back to her son. “Can not a mother also take pride in her son’s accomplishments without ridicule?”

  Jhovahkan dismissed his mother’s comment and returned his focus back on R’ihia, “Rather than just a reconnaissance mission… and since this could very well turn out to be a suicide mission… how about we do this more like an infiltration.” Jhovahkan said stroking his goatee, “then you can access their ships computer… transmit their database to our ship and then get back out.”

  R’ihia stood from her console and saluted her captain showing him allegiance, “Sir, I will be happy to serve in any capacity you bestow upon me,” she said, staring straight ahead and beyond the gaze of her captain.

  “Prepare your fighter… ensure your markings are accurate,” he said with caution, “relay to them you are having radio problems and need clearance to land. They should not detect you and once you get on board, disappear. Stay hidden and feed us all the info you can about their fleet locations and plans.”

  R’ihia left the bridge and made her way to the launch bay. The crew had already changed the markings on one of their fighters by the time she entered the launch bay. She carefully inspected every inch of her ship and gave them the nod that she was satisfied with their work.

  “We are ready down here captain,” R’ihia said as she finalized her flight checklist. “I am ready to launch on your command.”

  Jhovahkan acknowledged his first officer and wished her success through her com system. “You are cleared to launch.”

  R’ihia engaged her thrusters to the max and left the launch bay and flew out beyond the crystal net’s coverage. The craft was small enough that she could navigate close to the surface of the moon and then swing up into their fighting formation of the others swarming the carrier.

  “The next few minutes will make or break this plan,” Jhovahkan said. “Continue to monitor her location.”

  “Aye, sir,” his tactical answered.

  Several minutes passed as they waited for R’ihia to leave the safety of Minos to join in with the southern fleet.

  “Kalentun, this is R’ihia… I am turning to radio silence and will be joining with their fleet in thirty seconds.”

  The Kalentun’s tactical officer reported the fighter had left Minos’ shadow and is now in scanners. “She has joined with the rest of the fighters… flying in formation… no one seems to have noticed… they do not seem concerned in the least.”

  “Good,” Jhovahkan said. “Then it seems that our plan is working perfectly.”

  “I just detected that her shuttle changed course and has broken off from the others…”

  “Is she bugging out?” he asked with concern.

  “No sir… more like lining up to land… one moment, sir.”

  Precious moments again passed before the officer spoke again. Everyone waited nervously to hear the next report.

  “Verified. She is headed to the landing bay.”

  “Excellent!” Jhovahkan exclaimed with resounding victory in his voice. “Begin to move the fleet in closer to the carrier. Get into position in case her report to us is that they are alone.”

  The crew on the bridge, not being able to contain their relief any longer, burst out with applause and shouts as the news spread of the first officer making it on board the enemy carrier.

  “We should be hearing something from her very soon,” Jhovahkan said reassuring the crew.

  “Wait!” the tactical officer said with a start, “Getting some strange
readings sir. Looks like a ship coming out of slipstream.”

  “Helm, back us off slightly. Can you tell what ship it is?”

  “It is the Leif Erikson!” he shouted back as he armed all weapons.

  “It is a trap!” the helmsman exclaimed.

  “No! Wait!” Ghaia interrupted, “I do not sense they expected her to arrive, no, they all are just as surprised as we.”

  “What a wonderful stroke of luck!” Jhovahkan said. “Target their ship’s engines… I cannot pass up this opportunity,” he said with pleasure.

  “They are traveling at a very high velocity…” tactical reported. “I will do my best to hit them sir… target locked… ready for your command.”

  “Disengage the crystal net, and fire!” he said with tenacity. “Break the fleet up into attack formation Jhovahkan Delta Four.”

  The northern fleet’s concealment from the crystal net vanished as the Kalentun fired all weapons at the Leif Erikson and breaking away from formation. Five laser cannons fired and three missiles launched and then repeated for a second and third volley.

  They battered the rear section with two missiles hitting their target. The resulting impact caused the port engine to explode and burn plasma from its trailing glide path. Multiple laser blasts connected with the damaged ship taking that side engine out of commission. The Leif slipped sideways twenty degrees with the impacting barrage of weapons fire. The ship continued toward Ackturra with only one of its engines, still moving very fast and approaching orbit in moments.

  The crew of the Leif Erikson braced themselves during the impacting weapons fire, “Raise Shields!” Jhahnahkan shouted. “Damage report!” he barked.

  “Shields up sir,” Tim reported, “we took heavy damage to our port engine.”

  “I don’t know if we can slow down before we hit the atmosphere,” Rex said as he began to understand the gravity of the situation.

  “Hold on everyone!” Lanatek shouted!

  “Father! Launch! Get off this ship!” Jhahnahkan ordered.

  “Gotta slow us down just a bit more son,” Qiaoshan responded.

  “If you don’t leave now, you’ll burn up on reentry!”

  The launch bay doors opened as Qiaoshan lifted off and separated from the velocity of the Leif and rocketed away from the planet to avoid the impending destruction.