“I want to plot a micro-jump to these coordinates,” he said, pointing to an area a safe distance from the ring but close to where the sensor reading had briefly appeared.
“That’s about a half a million kilometers out from the comet ring,” commented Major Winfred looking at the indicated coordinates. “That’s pretty close. It might put a strain on our FTL drive. There could be a few small asteroids in that area.”
Standel was quiet for a moment as he calculated the risks. He didn’t want to put the Avenger back in the repair bay again. “I think we have to take the risk, Bob. If command’s suspicions are correct and we have a Hocklyn ship snooping around out there, this will put him within easy scanner range. He won’t be able to hide from us.”
“If it is a Hocklyn ship, what are our orders?”
Commander Standel was silent for a moment. “We don’t have time to get the civilian negotiating team out here. If they give us the chance, we will attempt to contact them. If they refuse to answer or try to escape, our orders are to attack and destroy.”
“We didn’t do so well the last time we engaged the Hocklyns,” Major Winfred reminded Commander Standel.
“The other two cruisers will be there shortly after we jump. We also have better screens and munitions than last time. Set up the jump. We need to find out for sure if anything is out there.”
Major Winfred quickly ordered the jump and passed the information over to the Astral. The cruiser would jump first and the Astral second. If there was a Hocklyn ship out there, this jump should take them by surprise. Winfred let out a long breath. He looked over the crew of the Command Center, knowing that they might be going into battle shortly. He could already sense an air of anticipation in the crew in the Command Center.
“I want both ships at Condition One,” ordered Commander Standel, taking a deep breath. “Have our two fighters ready in the flight bay. I want both of them launched as soon as we emerge from the vortex.”
“Yes, sir,” Major Winfred replied as he pressed a button on his console and activated his mini-com. Instantly, loud klaxons began sounding, calling the crew to action stations. “All crew go to Condition One, this is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. We have a potential Hocklyn ship out in the comet ring. We have been ordered to investigate.”
-
First Leader Rhyson felt relieved with his ship now hidden safely behind the small asteroid. The ice and heavy metals in the asteroid would prevent his ship from being detected by the human’s sensors. He would wait a few hours and then peek back out to see if anything had changed in the system. He didn’t like playing this game of surveillance. He preferred open combat, but his superiors wanted additional intelligence on the human worlds. Anytime a human ship came too close, they retreated behind the asteroid to hide from the human’s sensors.
Turning command over to Cryles, his Second Leader, he retired to his quarters to get some rest. He expected the next few days to be uneventful. It might be necessary to schedule some battle drills for the crew. Hocklyns were expected to stay sharp both mentally and physically at all times.
-
The first warning that First Leader Rhyson had that something was wrong was when the red alert lights began flashing in his quarters. He hit the com button on his desk and demanded to know why the ship had gone on combat alert.
“Human fighters have found us,” Cryles replied evenly over the com. “I am already launching missiles to eliminate them.”
“I want flank speed to the sublight engines,” First Leader Rhyson ordered sharply, feeling concerned that the humans had taken them by surprise. Their sensors must be better than believed. “Power up the FTL drive. We jump as soon as we are safely out of this ring’s gravity well.” First Leader Rhyson stood up and charged out of his quarters heading toward the War Room. The mission had suddenly gone terribly wrong.
-
On board the Avenger, Commander Standel stared in surprise and apprehension at the readings coming back from the fighters.
“It’s confirmed, sir,” Lieutenant Barnes reported as he studied the sensor readings being transmitted back by the two fighters. “The ship is of Hocklyn design, and it was using that asteroid to shield itself from our sensors.”
“How large is it?” Major Winfred demanded, his eyes narrowing. “Can we take it?”
“It’s only two hundred meters in length,” Lieutenant Barnes reported. “Sensor readings indicate it’s heavily armed for a ship of that size.”
“An armed scout ship of some type,” spoke Commander Standel, looking over at his executive officer. “Give me flank speed on the sublight drive. We can’t let them get away. Lieutenant Arcles try to contact them. Tell them we wish to talk, and their ship will not be harmed.”
“Do you think they will respond?” Winfred asked, his eyes on the plotting table, which was now showing the two fighters as well as the Hocklyn ship. The fighters were rapidly closing on the Hocklyn’s position.
“I don’t know,” replied Standel, watching the main sensor screen and the fighters. “If their actions at Stalor Four are an example of their thinking, then I doubt it. Lieutenant Arcles, inform command that we have encountered a Hocklyn scout and are attempting to establish communication.”
“They have fired missiles at our fighters,” Barnes spoke in a concerned voice as a blinking red warning light lit up on his console. “The fighters are going evasive. The Hocklyn ship is starting to pull away from the asteroid. It looks as if they’re trying to escape.”
“That rules out talking,” Major Winfred said, his eyes narrowing. “Do we take them out?”
Commander Standel nodded. This didn’t surprise him. “I want our starboard Shrike missile pod ready to fire. As soon as we have a targeting solution, I want to hit them hard. Astral is to follow us in.”
The two human ships leaped forward as their sublight engines kicked into flank speed. Their drive tubes glowed a brilliant blue as they accelerated toward the Hocklyn vessel. A bright explosion suddenly lit up the asteroid ahead, briefly illuminating it.
“They got one of our fighters,” Lieutenant Barnes reported as the fighter icon vanished from his screen. “The second fighter has eluded the missile targeting it.”
“Order the other fighter back,” Commander Standel spoke through clenched teeth. A brave young pilot had just died. He planned on making the Hocklyns pay for that death.
-
The First Leader made it into the War Room just in time to see one of the human fighters vanish from the sensor screens. “Status!” he barked as he took his place at the command pedestal and looked with narrow eyes at Second Leader Cryles. This situation had gotten out of hand very quickly. The humans now knew they were here and would surmise what they had been doing.
“We took out one of their fighters with a missile. The second fighter is withdrawing. The two human ships are rapidly closing and will be within weapons range before we can safely jump.”
First Leader Rhyson let out a deep breath. He wondered where he had erred. The humans should not have been aware of his ship’s presence. This would not set well with the Hocklyn High Command. He could very well be stripped of his commission, and his family could lose status. The humans were not supposed to become aware of the surveillance.
There was only one response to this present situation from a warrior of the Hocklyn race. “Bring us about and target the human ships. We will attack the humans and show them what it means to face a Hocklyn warship. If we are to die, then we will die as warriors!”
-
“The Hocklyn ship is coming out from behind the asteroid,” Ariel spoke as she used the ship’s short-range scanners to gather information on the small scout ship. “I am detecting targeting systems going active. I believe they mean to attack.”
Commander Standel nodded at the AI. “They know they can’t get clear of the comet ring before we get within weapons range. We’re too close to them.”
“We have a targeting solution for
the starboard Shrike pod,” Major Winfred said suddenly.
“Fire!” Standel ordered as Ariel switched the main viewscreen to show the approaching Hocklyn ship. “Hit them before they can hit us.”
The ship on the screen was remarkably similar to the one that had been in the Stalor System, only smaller. It was wedge shaped and bristling with weapons.
“Missiles away,” the weapons officer reported.
The Avenger shuddered slightly as twenty-four missiles blasted away from the ship. The missiles rapidly sped away from the Avenger, their targeting systems locking onto the Hocklyn scout.
“Target impact in twelve seconds,” Ariel reported as she used the ship’s short-range scanners to track the missiles. “Hocklyn vessel is launching missile interceptors. They are also firing their railguns.”
“Lock our heavy bow guns on their engines,” ordered Standel, watching the main sensor screen. “Load armor piercing rounds and begin firing. Astral is to lock on with all batteries and begin bombardment. I want that ship’s screen knocked down!”
“Railguns firing,” replied Major Winfred, bracing himself against the plotting table.
The Avenger shook as several of the Hocklyn rounds slammed home against her screen. One round penetrated and struck the ship’s armor, causing minor damage. A single red light appeared on the damage control board.
The twenty-four missiles of the Shrike attack quickly closed the gap between the two ships. Eight missiles vanished in small bright explosions as they were intercepted. The other sixteen slammed into the Hocklyn’s energy screen, knocking it down. The Hocklyn ship writhed under the onslaught as its hull was breached in numerous locations. Railgun rounds from the Avenger and Astral struck the hull, leaving gaping wounds.
-
First Leader Rhyson picked himself up from the deck of the War Room and looked around. Second Leader Cryles was dead. A displaced control console was lying across his body. Several other members of the War Room crew were also dead or severely wounded. Only a few still remained at their posts. The War Room was full of smoke and a small fire was raging over to one side where several consoles were burning.
Looking at the damage control board, First Leader Rhyson saw it was covered with red warning lights. The weapons were out, power was failing, and the jump drive had been destroyed. He tried to reach forward, but his right arm wouldn’t move. Looking down, he saw it was twisted at a sharp angle. With an angry snarl, he used his left hand to punch in a code on his command console. The humans might have destroyed his ship, but they would not retrieve any information from it. With a vicious grin, he pressed down the single red button on his console.
A moment later, the Hocklyn vessel exploded in a huge fireball, leaving nothing behind but fused and twisted wreckage.
-
“I believe they self-destructed,” Ariel spoke. “I am not detecting any active power sources.”
“The Hocklyn ship is a wreck,” Lieutenant Barnes confirmed. “My sensors are showing that the blast was caused by several nuclear explosions. We don’t have any nukes, so it had to be their self destruct mechanism.”
“I don’t think there are going to be any prisoners in this war,” Major Winfred spoke, gravely staring at the screen.
“I had hoped to capture that scout,” Commander Standel said with a heavy sigh of disappointment. “We could have gotten a lot of valuable intelligence from it.”
-
A few minutes later, the other two light cruisers arrived. Shuttles were quickly launched, and the wreck was cautiously approached. After careful scrutiny it was quickly determined that other than a few samples of hull material, there was nothing worth recovering.
“They aren’t afraid to die,” Major Winfred spoke as he listened to the shuttles report their lack of finding anything useful. “What type of race is it that destroys their ships and sacrifices their people like that?”
“We don’t know,” replied Commander Standel gravely as he watched the main viewscreen, which had one of the shuttles on it. “We don’t know anything about the Hocklyns other than what they look like and now two of their ship types.”
“Analysis of the battle reveals very little new information about the Hocklyns or their weapons,” Ariel reported. Her dark eyes gazed at the commander. “I did get some pretty decent scans of their missile interceptors as well as an estimated measurement of the ship’s energy shield strength.”
“That’s something at least,” spoke Commander Standel, folding his arms across his chest as he thought. “Let’s finish things up here and then head for home. I’m sure Admiral Streth will have a lot of questions about our engagement.”
-
Amanda and Richard had listened with rapt attention to the attack updates from the Avenger. They were both in the Command Center of the StarStrike. The communications officer of the light cruiser had transmitted a running commentary of the attack on the Hocklyn ship as well as live video. They continued to listen as the other two cruisers arrived and a search of the wreckage was begun.
“They’re not going to find much,” spoke Amanda, shaking her head in disappointment. “If those were nukes there won’t be much left of their ship.”
“What concerns me is that even their small ships are armed with nukes,” Major Trist commented with worry in his voice. He had been covering the Command Center while Admiral Streth and Colonel Sheen were away. When news of the supposed Hocklyn vessel had been reported, he had summoned Colonel Sheen to the Command Center.
“This is going to frighten a lot of people,” commented Richard, looking around the room. During the attack, the crew had gone about their jobs as if the brief battle had been an everyday occurrence.
“This incident will really worry my mother when she hears about this,” said Amanda, thinking about her parents back on Aquaria. From the actions of the Hocklyn scout, it made war seem inevitable. “This will bring the reality of the Hocklyn menace to everyone’s attention.”
Richard nodded. He couldn’t blame Amanda for being worried. Everyone should be.
-
Back on Aquaria, Amanda’s father looked around the basement beneath their home, feeling satisfied with what they had accomplished. Between him and Avery Brennen, a lot of changes had been made. The three rooms in the basement had been heavily reinforced. A number of heavy beams had been pounded into place to add more support to the ceiling, and new heavier doors had been installed at the entrances to the other two rooms. A series of batteries had been installed to furnish some power if the power grid was to fail. They also had a small emergency generator if needed. At least they would have lights.
A heavy wood door at the top of the stairs had two solid metal bolts that could be slid closed from the inside to prevent entry. The door was thick enough that Anson doubted if even a heavy rifle round could penetrate it. Two of the rooms had been made into bedrooms. In the main room, two of the walls were covered with shelves. All of these were packed with the supplies that Amanda had placed in the storage unit. There was enough food to last four people for a good six months or more. Several sofas, his favorite recliner, a few other chairs, and furniture made the room seem almost comfortable. If they had to stay down here, it wouldn’t be too bad.
Anson looked around the basement and then his eyes focused on the locked metal gun cabinet on the far wall. It contained the two military assault rifles that Amanda had managed to procure along with .ammunition for the two weapons. He had his own hunting rifles and a shotgun upstairs. Most of the ammunition for those was also in the gun cabinet. Letting out a deep sigh, he prayed that he would never need to open that gun cabinet to get the assault rifles. He also said a short prayer that his daughter would stay safe and would someday return home.
“Are you ready to eat?” his wife asked from the top of the stairs where she was watching her husband.
All this work down in the basement made her nervous. Anson had explained why it had to be done, but it still made her feel uncomfortable. Ever sinc
e the Federation president had explained the potential Hocklyn threat, Anson had been down here working in the basement. Sometimes their closest neighbor Avery Brennen and his wife would come over. While the two men worked down in the basement, the two women would busy themselves baking or talking about how hard it had become to buy things in town.
“I’m almost finished for today,” Anson replied as he placed the last two packages up on a shelf. Each shelf was labeled with what was setting on it. Amanda had done an excellent job picking out what they would require if these mysterious aliens invaded. Anson hoped none of the supplies in the basement would be needed. “I’m coming up, and I’m starving.”
“I baked a pie for tonight,” his wife replied smiling. Once Anson was back upstairs, she could shut the door to the basement and forget about what it meant.
-
Admiral Streth was down on the surface of New Providence at the large marine base just outside of the capital city of Ashton. Ashton had a population of nearly six million and was the largest metropolitan center on the planet. Hedon had taken a shuttle down to the base to meet with General Allister, commander of the base and the highest ranking marine officer on the planet. Admiral Flaxen had also come along since some of what they would be discussing would involve the defenses they were putting in place above the planet. Hedon had also invited Senator Tarn Glason to attend the meeting. Senator Glason was the senior senator in the New Providence government and was also one of the six senators currently sitting on the Federation Council.
Admiral Streth and Admiral Flaxen walked down the ramp of the shuttle and were pleasantly surprised to see a company of marines dressed out in full dress uniforms standing at attention in front of them. General Allister was standing at the bottom of the ramp with several of his senior officers.
“Welcome to Fort Ashton,” spoke General Allister, saluting the two admirals.
“At ease, General,” Admiral Streth replied with a friendly smile. “Your marines look excellent. That’s a fine looking group of men and women you have there.”
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 12
