by K. D. Mattis
Turning to Harris, Gonzales asked, “Can the ship take all this?”
“I don’t know.”
With another strong turn, the Explorer smacked right into one of the alien ships. The hull rumbled at the collision.
For a moment, the lights on the alien vessel turned off. Asher and her crew watched closely, hoping for the best, but fell when the ship’s lights returned and the ship darted away.
The Guardian and Protector sped toward one of the smaller vessels, successfully distracting it from making another run at the Explorer.
Faring better, the two remaining alien ships refused to let up. With every chance Asher gave them, they lit up their weapons and let off another round.
Four more shots buried into the port side of the Explorer. The energy of the blast entered the ship.
“We have a hull breach,” Card said. “It only spans a single deck, but several people were injured.”
Shouting, Asher said, “Lock off the affected area!”
“The automatic safety engaged. Unfortunately, there are people we can’t get to because of it.”
“Get the medics down there. If they can’t get to them, we can’t have the engineers bypass the controls. It’s just too dangerous.”
At the corner of the right monitor, Asher saw enemy fire shoot completely through the Protector.
“Gibbs!”
But the shot couldn’t force the fight out of the Protector. Despite leaking oxygen into space in a gaseous cloud and losing maneuverability, it continued.
Lieutenant Card stared blankly at the monitor in front of her.
“Admiral, we’re receiving a coded video transmission.”
“From Reynolds?”
“No, sir. It’s from Commander Cole.”
30
Gibbs and his crew struggled to breathe.
The instant the alien fire ripped through their hull, their helmets snapped down, releasing lifesaving oxygen.
Turning to his pilot, Gibbs said, “Get us away from the battle. We need to repair the damage.”
The tactical team stopped firing as the ship pulled away from the fight. Three men ran up from the back of the ship and began their work.
The engineers placed a mesh patch over the hole in both the floor and ceiling of the small ship. Then, using what looked like a fire extinguisher, they sprayed thick, blue foam over the mesh. Exposed to the cold of space, the foam instantly froze and created a seal.
“Sir,” one of the engineers said, “the seal is complete. It won’t work forever, but we should be all right for now.”
The life support system of the ship, no longer detecting a hull breach, began pumping oxygen back into the room.
“Everyone, leave your helmets on,” Gibbs said. “We can’t risk another attack like that. Tactical, how are we doing?”
“It’s not looking good, sir. We just can’t hit their ships. They’re too fast.”
Smiling, Gibbs said, “That’s fine. We’re fast too. We’re not as fast as they are, but we’re close. We have to keep on their tails.”
“Commander,” the communications officer said, “we’re receiving a transmission from the Explorer.”
“Put it on the screen.”
At the front of the room, Lieutenant Card’s face showed on the monitor.
“Commander, the admiral and Cole have a way to fight them.”
“Tell me.”
“Sir, we can’t hit them with our missiles. At least, we can’t do it consistently. However, Commander Cole suggested that we could detonate the missiles when they’re close to the alien vessels.”
“That won’t cause as much damage as a hit.”
“No, sir,” Card said, “but if we hit them with close enough detonations, we might still destroy them.”
“Has it worked?”
“We haven’t started yet.”
“Why?”
“The admiral wants you to have them chase you. She doesn’t care how you do it, but if they follow you, we’ll know where they are going to be. Your ship is the fastest and most maneuverable, so she hopes you’re up to the task.”
“Lieutenant, the Protector is always up to the task.”
The tactical team of the Explorer sat at the ready. As soon as it received the order, the Protector charged through the middle of the battlefield.
Two of the alien vessels couldn’t resist the bait, just like in their last fight.
While the third alien vessel tried to continue its assault on the Explorer, the Guardian went to work keeping it busy. If the aliens stopped long enough to take a shot at the bigger ship, it took a shot from a missile. This soon put them on the defensive.
Two of the alien vessels continued to follow the Protector. Every move Gibbs and his crew made, the aliens were sure to make as well. Every time they took a shot, the Protector did its best to avoid it. At last, the aliens passed by the Explorer once more.
“Fire!”
Working quickly, Holt let off a large volley of missiles. Each silently screamed toward the alien vessels. The aliens moved quickly, but Tran moved quicker.
With a punch of a button, all of the missiles exploded in a brilliant display of light.
The first vessel showed no signs of stopping but left a long trail of leaking gasses. No longer did it turn to continue the fight.
The second vessel suffered a far worse fate. A brilliant blue light formed deep in its engines. The light grew brighter and brighter until it completely consumed the ship. The small vessel then disappeared in an intense flash.
With only one ship remaining as a threat, the forces of Earth prepared to turn on the vessel.
Asher turned to Card. “Tell them they have one chance to surrender. Tell them in every language you can. Inform Guardian and Protector they are not to fire again until given the order.”
Card nodded and went to work.
For several seconds, the alien vessel stopped moving. Tension on the bridge rose so much Asher thought she could touch it.
“Card, do we have a response?”
“No, sir. I haven’t seen any form of transmission from their vessel.”
“Send the message again.”
Before the communications officer could complete her task, the aliens turned directly toward the Explorer. Two bright points of light formed at the end of the prongs of the alien vessel, making Asher’s decision for her.
“Destroy them.”
As the Explorer fired, the ship didn’t move. After a torpedo struck it, it was reduced to pieces no larger than a pebble.
“Why?”
The simple question from Ensign Gonzales struck everyone on the bridge like a slap in the face.
“I don’t get it. They could have run away. They could have surrendered. They could have even tried to fight us again. Instead, they forced us to destroy them?”
Harris put a hand on his copilot’s arm.
Asher sighed. “Ensign, I don’t know who they are, what they are, or how they think. I want to know why they acted like that as much as you do. Unfortunately, we may never know.”
One of the diagnostics team members stood and walked over to the admiral.
“Sir, the third alien vessel is gone. I think we may have a problem on our hands.”
Nodding, Asher said, “I think you’re right. The ship is too damaged to get far.”
“And those ships are too small to be out here by themselves.”
“Get Guardian and Protector back on board. We need everyone to help with repairs. How much time do we have?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Find out.” Standing, Asher spoke to the bridge crew. “I’ll be in the conference room. Holt, you have the bridge.”
Asher waited in the conference room. Every tiny noise she heard, she hoped belonged to the diagnostics team. She needed to prepare. Without information, she didn’t know how.
When Cole and Gibbs entered the room, they still wore their armored flight suits. She couldn’t help but
stare.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Gibbs said, “but I didn’t think there was any reason to change. I have reason to believe that—”
“More aliens are on the way?”
“Yes. Have the ships been spotted?”
“No, but I know they’re out there. The ships we saw today were too small. I think they were fighters or scouts. A ship that size couldn’t survive long trips on its own. There’s a larger vessel somewhere.”
The three officers stared at the tabletop for several moments.
Finally, Cole spoke up. “Do we have any ideas?”
Gibbs shook his head.
“It’s unfortunate,” Asher said, “but all of our ships are damaged. We spent a lot of ammunition fighting these vessels. Every simulation we’ve run, we’ve run under the assumption that we would be fresh and ready for battle.”
Asher continued to stare at the tabletop. She didn’t have any interest in it, but couldn’t stop herself from tracing the lines of the table with her eyes.
“Admiral,” Cole said, “you’re scaring me. Do we have a plan?”
“The last time we fought the aliens, we risked a lot. We brought a nuclear warhead. We can’t use a nuke again. Our ace-in-the-hole is no longer available.”
Standing, Asher stared both of the men straight in the eyes.
“Gentlemen. We are not going to allow an alien vessel to reach Earth. I don’t have a plan, but there is absolutely no way they’re going to be allowed to go that far.”
Gibbs tried to read the admiral’s face. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”
“My orders are clear. No retreat. No surrender. The only thing that matters is that Earth stays safe.”
31
“Admiral,” Holt said, “we have the alien ships on radar. They’re approaching quickly.”
“Ships?”
“I’m reading three large ships.”
Over the radio, Gibbs said, “Admiral, it looks like training for battle against two ships wasn’t enough.”
Asher forced a smile. “I told you one wasn’t enough.”
All eyes of the bridge crew lay on Asher. She needed to focus, and she knew that, but she couldn’t help but think of home. Her family, her pets, the academy, the places she’d seen, and the places she still wanted to see.
“All of you,” Asher said to the bridge, “I want you to think of whoever you love most on Earth. If we don’t succeed today, you’ll never see that person again. I want you to think of home. If we don’t succeed today, you’ll never go there again.”
Ensign Tran massaged his hands.
“I always wanted to go into space,” Tran said. “Space always fascinated me. Now that I’m here, I can only think of home. I don’t know what’s about to happen, but I know that I am going home again.”
“Good. Let’s make it happen,” Asher said.
Hitting a button on the arm of her chair, Asher activated an alert that ran through the entire ship.
“All hands, return to battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat: all hands return to battle stations. This is not a drill.”
Card started typing on her console, expecting an order from the admiral that never came.
“Admiral?” she asked.
“We’re not sending them a message this time, Lieutenant. I don’t know much about these aliens, but I do know they’re not interested in peace.”
With her eyes narrowing in on the alien ships, Asher gripped the armrests of her seat tightly.
“Helm?”
Harris and Gonzales punched several commands into their consoles. “We’re ready, sir.”
“Tactical?”
“Ready.”
“Comm?”
“Ready, Admiral.”
“Diagnostics?”
“Ready.”
“Engineering?”
Card said, “They’re ready. Medics are on standby as well.”
“Good. Tactical, I know we’re starting to run low on ammunition.”
“We’ll make every shot count.”
The vessels approached. At the front of two of the ships, each slightly larger than the Explorer, six points of light began to glow. Between the two, a much larger ship sat further back. Large doors sat open on both sides of the giant ship. They could see the third smaller ship that fled their attack.
“Harris, I want on the back end of the largest ship. I don’t care how you do it, but I want us back there before they have a chance to respond. Be ready for my mark.”
Holt looked to the admiral. “Engines, sir?”
Asher nodded.
Twelve beams of light erupted out of the alien vessels and toward the Explorer.
“Now!”
The engines screamed in agony as Harris pushed them to their max. Never before had they been pushed to accelerate so quickly. It pushed Asher violently back into her seat.
Asher fought to keep her eyes open.
With every ounce of metal straining, the Explorer twisted through space until it rolled behind the largest alien vessel.
Tactical didn’t have to wait for the order. Six torpedoes shot out and hit the engines. Each made a brilliant explosion and each left obvious damage, warping and bending the hull.
“Harris, get us out of here!” Asher shouted.
Asher bought him some time, but Harris couldn’t get away from the aliens. Everywhere he turned, a beam of light struck the Explorer. Each beam left damage and tried to break through the hull.
“Are they on our tail?” Asher asked.
Seeing several nods, Asher couldn’t help but smile. “Release all waste.”
“Sir?”
“Order engineering to release any and all waste we have. I’m talking trash, burnt out parts, anything.”
A few seconds later, several airlocks opened across the hull of the Explorer. Out of each, small amounts of garbage and waste drifted out into space.
At such high speeds, the garbage bit into the hull of the first alien ship with the force of falling boulders. It couldn’t break through the hull, but it forced the aliens to avoid what they could, giving the Explorer shot farther ahead.
“Comm, I want Guardian and Protector in the air. Have them focus on the ship closest to us. They are to do everything they can to move it away.”
After Card passed on the orders, Cole responded and requested to speak with Asher.
“Admiral,” Cole said over the radio, “we can’t possibly destroy that vessel. It’s much too strong.”
“I don’t expect you to destroy it. Just keep it off of us for as long as you can.”
Guardian and Protector lifted off the Explorer. Ignoring everything else, they charged directly for the closest ship. After firing several missiles, they convinced the much larger ship that they were worth its attention.
“Dump another load of trash,” Asher said.
“Sir, there isn’t any,” Card said.
“Then make some!”
Asher watched several camera feeds showing the crew working together to create enough waste to fill most of an airlock. Once released, the aliens ignored it, plowing right through it.
“Sir, it didn’t have any effect. They didn’t even slow down that time,” Holt said.
“Perfect,” Asher whispered.
“Holt, how many warheads for missiles do we have that aren’t attached to a body?”
“I don’t know. A lot, but they’re all low yield. That’s why we’re not using them.”
“Is it enough to fill an airlock?”
Holt slammed his fist on his console while letting out a yelp of excitement. On the radio, he ordered his team to fill an airlock with all unused missile warheads. When it finished, his team sent word to the tactical officer.
“Sir, the warheads are ready. I have them set for a short delay. After the delay, they’ll detonate on impact.”
“Perfect,” Asher said again. “Release them.”
Holt released the warheads from the airlock. The time dela
y kept them from detonating as they bounced off the hull of the Explorer and into space. Just as before, the aliens ignored what they thought was more trash.
Asher laughed. “Bad move.”
Each of the several dozen warheads was weak on its own. But their combined blast knocked out four of the alien ships’ primary weapons.
The Explorer turned around and opened fire with its railguns and several torpedoes. Each shot found its target.
In the distance, Asher could see the largest alien ship quickly approaching.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me that thing was so close?”
Eight points of light lit up on the front of the alien ship. All eight launched toward the Explorer.
“Evasive maneuvers!”
Harris did everything he could to avoid as many of the bolts of light as possible, but he couldn’t avoid them all. Three beams hit the Explorer with full force. Two broke through the hull. A third damaged the Explorer’s sensor equipment.
“Sir, I don’t know what happened,” said a diagnostics team member. “I never saw the ship move on radar. Even now, it’s not showing itself where it should be.”
“They must have a way to interfere with our radar,” Asher said. “Status report.”
Card pushed her headset up to her ears.
“We’re receiving reports of hull breaches across multiple decks. We have massive injuries, and there several people who are unaccounted for.”
Card strained even harder.
“Admiral, there’s something else.”
All eight points of light lit up on the alien ship. Asher’s eyes grew wide.
“Admiral,” Card repeated, “there’s something else.”
“Is it the aliens?”
“No, sir. It’s the Russians.”
32
Harris and Gonzales worked quickly, but couldn’t do enough
“Admiral,” Harris said, “the last attack damaged our thrusters. We can’t move fast enough to avoid them again.”
Speaking into a microphone, Asher said, “All hands, brace for impact.”
Asher wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to find safety. She wanted off the ship, but she couldn’t let her crew down. Pushing her body into the command chair, Asher prepared for whatever damage the alien ship would cause. As she stared down the giant vessel on the monitor, all eight lights shot toward her.
