“That is true, I guess,” the ambassador allowed, not wanting to disagree.
“I had my aide look up all of the information we had on thy planet,” the High Archon explained. “Apparently our ancestors visited it on two occasions; once to drive out the rakshasas and the other to help with the capture of a shape shifter that made it to thy planet.”
“Yes,” agreed Steropes. “I was there for both of those occasions, and your assistance was instrumental in allowing the Terrans to grow and develop unhindered. Both the rakshasas and the shape shifter would have reduced them to little more than slaves on their own planet.”
“Thank you for your previous assistance,” added the ambassador, “even if we did not know it at the time. We are already in your debt, but find ourselves in a similar position once again, as we are about to be overrun by the Drakuls.”
“They are also nasty creatures,” the High Archon said with a sniff, “and if it were in my power to give you aid against them, I would. Unfortunately, I am not the one to talk to for military matters. I am the benefactor for civil administration; for military assistance, ye must talk to Grand Admiral Michael, who is in charge of the fleet. He is the benefactor for all things military. He is currently in the HD 10180 system, defending it against a Drakul invasion of our own. Although I am not an expert in warfare, it seems to me that the battle there has become very static of late. He may be able to send some ships to thy planet, but ye will have to travel there to ask the question. I realize that ye have already traveled far, but ye must go another two systems to seek the aid ye desire.”
* * * * *
Chapter Thirteen
Bridge, TSS Atlantic, Ross 154, February 2, 2021
“Terra, all of our mines are placed, and we’re empty,” radioed the Septar’s communications officer. “We’re going back for another load.”
“Roger that, Septar,” transmitted the Terra’s communications officer. “Godspeed and hurry back!”
“Don’t start the party without us!”
Captain Adler smiled. The longer the Drakuls gave them, the better prepared they became. The TSS Atlantic had entered the Ross 154 system an hour previously and was inbound to the stargate with a load of missile launchers. Each launcher was nothing more than a cruiser-sized anti-ship missile in a box, with a small communications and navigations suite that would allow it to stay in place for about five years.
The battlecruiser Atlantic was making its maiden voyage to bring the load of missiles. The government had finally decided to name the battlecruiser class based on the number of countries bordering each ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean had more than any other. The name didn’t matter to Captain Adler; he was just happy his ship was finished in time for him to fight the Drakuls with it. He wouldn’t mind a little time to train his crew prior to battle, too, if he could get it.
Every moment of every crewmember’s day was spent in training, trying to master the ship’s systems. If not to master them, at least to become proficient with them. Hell, thought Captain Adler, if we could just figure out how to launch missiles, that would be great. The ship didn’t have a motto yet, and he idly wondered how, “There’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead!” would sound.
Bridge, Drakul Ship Destruction of Olympos, Stargate to the Ross 154 System, February 5, 2021
Captain Bullig didn’t have to be onboard the first ship to go into the Ross 154 system; the Overlord had only specified that he lead the assault into the system of the new food source. As the last battlecruiser moved into position, he smiled. They were ready.
It would be interesting to see how the new food source had prepared for his return. Based on what had happened to the last force that had gone up against them, he figured it would be something nasty. He sent his forces through the gate accordingly. He wouldn’t be on the first ship if he didn’t have to be.
“Commence the assault!” he transmitted. The first battleship began its attack run, followed by the rest of the fleet. As the Destruction of Olympos started to pick up speed, he grinned from ear to ear. He had waited a long time to lead a conquering force.
The first battleship made the jump.
Bridge, TSS Terra, Ross 154 System, February 5, 2021
“Stargate emergence!” called the DSO. “Drakul Battleship! Mines are being activated. Launchers are coming online.”
“Cleared to fire,” said Captain Griffin. “All weapons. Let’s show them what we’ve got.”
The crew of the Terra had been waiting for this moment. Not anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Drakuls, but not quite dreading it, either. As each load of mines was placed and each layer of box launchers was added to the stargate’s defenses, the Terrans had become more and more confident they could hold the gate.
Waiting within laser and graser range, the Terra began firing as its mounts came online. Hatches opened down the length of its starboard side as the Terra’s missiles indicated their readiness and then roared off in search of their targets.
Within a minute of the battleship’s entrance into the system, the first of the Terran mines detonated, far closer to the stargate than they were normally placed. The Terrans had hoped to hit the ship before its shields stabilized, but they didn’t succeed. The battleship’s shields were in place and absorbed the blast, as they did the explosions of the second and third mines, as well. Counter-missile missiles and lasers began firing from both sides of the battleship in an effort to keep any more mines from reaching it, but a fourth mine activated. Although it didn’t breach the shield, it was all the battleship’s forward shields could take, and they collapsed.
A second battleship entered the system in time to see the first round of missiles impact its comrade, and nuclear fire enveloped the ship from both sides as it was hit by 17 missiles from the first box launcher salvo and another 25 missiles from the Terra that made it through its defenses. Its aft shields failed as well, and the battleship was defenseless against the Terra’s energy weapons. The 16 grasers in the starboard broadside drilled four meter holes into the Drakul invader, while the Terra’s 12 lasers added their own 3.5 meter holes.
After firing twice at the first battleship, the OSO could see that there was little to be gained by hitting it again. Its bridge was open to space in at least two places and all four of its engines were out. It floated powerless in space. Seeing this, the OSO shifted targets as the Terra’s shields absorbed the first volley of laser fire from the second battleship. Before he could fire, a third battleship entered the system.
“Damn,” muttered the OSO, “I’m falling behind. Maybe this will help.” He triggered three waves of box launchers as the first mines came into proximity with the second battleship and detonated along its sides. Missiles hit the ship from both sides, and two more mines detonated alongside it. The battleship’s shields collapsed.
No longer able to stop the Terrans’ energy weapons, the lasers and grasers of the Terra struck home on the second battleship, augmented by the weapons of the battlecruisers Septar, Atlantic and Pacific, and the Drakul battleship began venting atmosphere in a number of places.
The death throes of the second battleship gave the third battleship’s crew the time it needed to stabilize their systems, and the Terran ships were forced to defend themselves from the incoming missiles it launched. Making matters worse for the Terrans, the first Drakul battlecruiser entered the system, followed closely by a second and a third.
The Terran battlecruisers ignored their counterparts and continued firing at the second battleship. With a wave of missiles from the Terra and two more waves of box launcher missiles, the battleship was finished, its magazines detonating in a cataclysmic explosion that would have been spectacular in atmosphere. The Terra shifted fire to the third Drakul battleship.
A fourth battlecruiser entered the Ross 154 system, followed by a fifth and a sixth. “It’s getting a little crowded in here,” noted the DSO, who was starting to lose the battle against incoming missiles. As more and more ships entered t
he system, all of them targeted the Terra as the biggest threat. The OSO couldn’t kill the invaders fast enough, despite using the last two waves of box launchers to breach the third Drakul battleship’s shields. Several mines also struck the battleship, with two detonating next to the giant ship’s engines. Powerless, the ship absorbed the next round of battleship missiles from the Terra without destroying a single one; 34 missiles, each bigger than a space fighter, detonated along its length. Lasers and grasers sought out critical areas, and the battleship was quickly rendered into scrap.
The Terra shifted fire to the Drakul battlecruiser engaged with the Septar, and its weight of fire quickly turned the battle for the Terran battlecruiser. The Drakul battlecruiser it was fighting lost its shields and then its bridge to the combined energy weapons of the Terra and the Septar. The OSO on the Terra shifted fire again to the battlecruiser that the Pacific had engaged. As the prepositioned mines came within range of the enemy battlecruiser fleet and took their toll on the battlecruisers’ shields, the OSO started to feel confident that he could hold the stargate.
Until the Drakul dreadnought entered the system.
Recognizing the dreadnought for the threat it was, all four Terran ships immediately shifted fire to it in an effort to knock down its shields. The Drakul vessel did not return fire immediately; instead, it focused its weapons on the mines that were moving toward it. The dreadnought eliminated all but one of the mines before they could detonate. The one that did activate did not appear to have much effect on the behemoth’s shields; the OSO barely noticed a fluctuation in them as the mine exploded.
Having eliminated the closest threat, the dreadnought fired at the Atlantic, which had the misfortune of being in full view of one of the dreadnought’s broadsides. Although the dreadnought was not as long as some of the other nations’ dreadnought classes, it still massed over seven million tons and was much wider and taller. Its broadside included 48 dreadnought-sized missile launchers and 35 lasers that were each 5.25 meters in diameter.
All of these fired at the Atlantic.
It was impossible to tell, even later in the slow motion replays, how many of these hit the Atlantic and how many were absorbed by its shields, but the answers were easy enough to comprehend without replay. Too many and not enough. The Atlantic was hit by at least 35 of the dreadnought’s missiles, each of which was nearly half the size of a frigate-class warship, and at least 25 of the lasers. As the sensors cleared, the Terrans got their first look at what was left of the Atlantic. Five pieces were all that remained, blown apart so thoroughly that all were open to space. As the crews of the other ships watched, a last missile, launched later than the rest of the broadside due to some technological glitch, arrived at what was left of the Atlantic, obliterating the largest piece.
“Holy shit,” someone said. It was hard to tell who; everyone thought it.
“Retreat!” commed Captain Griffin. “All ships retreat to the Solar System at flank speed.”
Captain Griffin looked again at the remains of the Atlantic, which had been shifted to one of the smaller monitors and sat back in her captain’s chair. The battle had been going so well, she thought, before the arrival of the dreadnought. They had all fired at it several times and not made a dent in its shields. She knew that all of their defenses combined weren’t up to the task of defeating the dreadnought. They didn’t have anything that could.
If the Vella Gulf didn’t get back with something big, they were doomed.
Bridge, Drakul Ship Destruction of Olympos, Ross 154 System, February 5, 2021
They had chased off the food source’s pitifully few ships, and Captain Bullig savored a hatchling with a smile. Although an unpleasant surprise for the first several battleships that went through the stargate, it had been a fierce and surprisingly vicious fight to gain entry into the system. Totally enjoyable. His smaller craft were now scouring the remains of the ships that had been destroyed to gather the rest of the harvest. He was especially looking forward to seeing what the new food source tasted like. The battlecruiser they had destroyed should yield many samples. Hopefully, some were still relatively intact after the explosive decompression of the ship. He hadn’t meant to hit it quite that hard...but the destruction of the battlecruiser had been impressive and would be a memory that the food source would take back with them to their home system to make them fight better next time.
“Aren’t we going to give chase?” asked his new XO. “We could probably destroy at least another one or two of them before they get away.”
“No,” replied Bullig, savoring another hatchling as he enjoyed the afterglow of battle. “Let them take back word of our great victory to their system, where they can cower in fear until we are ready to finish them. I’m sure the destruction of their battlecruiser will be great for morale when it is played on their news services.” Like a cat with a mouse, he wanted to play with them for a while. Like the cat, he realized that once he destroyed his prey, all of the fun would be gone from it forever.
He smiled outwardly, although he knew he was going to have to send back for more ships to break into the food source’s home star system. The Overlord would not be pleased with that, but it was necessary; if they had this many defenses in the outer system, they would have even more in their home system. Maybe even enough to destroy a dreadnought. He needed more ships. Perhaps he should send some samples of the food source to the Overlord to make sure he got the ships he wanted. It would take a little longer than he had planned before they could conduct the next attack, giving the food source more time to prepare, but that was all right. Without the challenge, where was the fun? He just needed to figure out a way to keep from dying in the next assault. What was the good of conquest, if you weren’t around for the pillage and plunder that inevitably followed?
“The minions have returned, Captain,” said the communicator.
“Good,” Captain Bullig replied. “Bring them here.”
He needed to learn more about the next system to prepare for the assault. As the command ship for the Drakul fleet, the Destruction of Olympos had a few members of the feeder races that it carried to do the things the Drakuls either could not or would not do. Playing with computers was one of those things, so he had sent some of the minions to the battlecruiser he had destroyed to see what they could learn about the new feeder race.
The first group he sent had reported that they weren’t able to break into the computer system onboard the battlecruiser. After he had eaten two of them in front of the others, the rest of the group decided they would like to go back and try again. Apparently, watching their comrades get consumed jogged something loose in their minds, giving them new ideas for how to get into the computer systems.
His master at arms brought two of the worm creatures onto the bridge. They were shaking in fear. He chuckled, deep in his throat. This is what he lived for.
“So, were you sufficiently motivated to break into their systems this time?” he asked the taller of the Hooolongs.
“Yes, your lordship,” replied the Hooolong. Its four eyes looked in four directions at once, unconsciously looking for a way to escape the danger it knew it was in. None of the eyes looked at Bullig, and he laughed again. “We were able to break into the Terran’s computer system.”
“Wait,” Bullig said, stopping him. “The Terran’s computer system?”
The Hooolong moved its head in a circular motion, indicating assent. “Their main planet is called Terra in their language. They consider themselves to be Terrans.”
“What did you find in their computer systems?” asked Captain Bullig.
“We found a message to the ship called ‘Septar,’ which we believe was one of the ships that fled the system,” said the smaller of the two. “The message ordered them to continue bringing mines to the stargate until the minefield was at least twice as strong as the one in Ross 154, which we believe is the system we are currently in. We tried to cross-check this with the ship’s ephemeris, but it was damaged bey
ond salvation.”
Captain Bullig made a hungry noise at the back of his throat.
“And that’s why we searched the bridge,” the taller Hooolong said quickly, “until we found a star chart, which confirmed that we are in Ross 154. The message that we found was two months old, so we do not know what happened in the interim, but as of two months ago, the minefield in the next system was supposed to be at least twice as strong as this one. It also referenced box launchers; there were supposed to be three times as many of them.”
Hmmm...thought Captain Bullig...twice as many mines and three times the number of box launchers. Based on the number of ships defending Ross 154, he didn’t expect that there would be many ships in the next system. Even though the enemy forces had been vastly inferior in this system, they had still managed to inflict a number of losses on his force.
“Good,” he said, looking at the taller one. “I will let you live.”
Both of the Hooolongs slumped in relief. “I only said that one,” Bullig said. Before the smaller Hooolong could move, he grabbed it and bit through the large artery below its eyes. Slurping happily, he continued to work out his plan to capture the next system...Terra. He could do it with the ships he had, but there would be a large number of casualties, and he didn’t want to be one of them. The Overlord had been specific that Bullig was to be in command of the first ship into that system. He would be, but for him to survive the assault he would need a few more ships...
* * * * *
Theogony 3: Terra Stands Alone Page 12
