by H. T. Kofruk
With these thoughts, he reached the armoury which was guarded by two warrior-monks, dressed in grey robes. Paul knew that under the robes the monks were concealing blades and pulse rifles. Upon seeing him, however, they stepped aside, muttering greetings.
The armoury looked old from the outside, but the inside was well lit and full of gleaming steel shelves. Hundreds of well-maintained pulse rifles, pistols and hyper-vibrating geratinium swords lined the shelves. Paul passed the mass of weapons and entered a lift at the far end of the armoury. The lift took him down thirty feet where a geratinium-reinforced steel door was awaiting him. With a split-second scan of his eyes, the steel door opened, revealing a small room. In the centre of the room was a large grey case with a sword on top of it.
Paul approached the case and the sword with slow, purposeful steps. He looked down at his sword that he had named Lordswroth and then grabbed it by the hilt. The blade was only a foot long, more a dagger than a sword. Its grey tone suggested that it was made of geratinium, one of the lightest and strongest metals in the known universe. The black grip was engraved with silver verses of the bible while the pommel was a simple smooth black sphere, symbolizing Earth. As soon as he put his forefinger on the pommel, however, it illuminated slightly and the grey blade suddenly extended by three feet.
With his left hand he caressed the long blade, its warmth pulsating. Paul knew the blade was made from living organisms, a type of bacteria that had been somehow married to geratinium. The new bacteria were ‘taught’ how to ‘grow’ into certain shapes according to different electrical stimulants. And they periodically required nutrients to stay alive.
“Hello, Lordswroth” he said smilingly to the weapon “It is time for you to feed on the blood of our enemies, my old friend”
Chapter 29: Bladun
‘We may think democracy is only a human invention. We justify invading other intelligent aliens since they are supposedly living under dictatorships, autocracies or evil hereditary monarchies. It is difficult to quantify but humans have seem to have a stronger tendency for organized government than many other aliens. The Ewani, the Takobka, the Sarraman and many other species have less organized but highly democratic societies where all important decisions that impact the majority of the members are made by universal voting.’ – Frank Lung, Independent Political Scientist,
Bladun was one of the hardest planets to invade within the Chinese Empire. In fact, the military strategists at the time thought it was even impossible with the given technology. That was because ninety-two per cent of Bladun was ocean, and the dominant intelligent beings, the Qeebla, were marine dwellers. The squid-like aliens were extremely intelligent, perhaps even more so than Rendens. Despite being an even younger species than the conquerors from Earth, the Qeebla had effectively colonized the sole land continent on Bladun and many of the larger surrounding islands. They had the technology to build machines to mine for resources and plant crops on land, many of which became delicacies for the ruling Qeebla families and aristocracies.
The invading Chinese Imperial forces took the continent first with relative ease. Bringing the multitude of underwater kingdoms to kneel was an altogether different matter.
But Emperor Han Xilau, the grandfather of the current emperor, had been adamant about it. Military submarine technology was widely ignored after the full launch of the Space Age and, being a continental power on Earth, the Chinese lagged behind even other Rendens. The Qeebla took full advantage of this, drowning thousands of Chinese soldiers in the process. Atmospheric suits, redesigned for underwater utilization, had weak spots which were quickly identified and exploited by the intelligent Qeebla.
After ten years, however, all the main Qeebla kingdoms paid homage to a holograph of the Walking God. A full third of the Qeebla population was dead or dying, mostly from the horrific bacteria developed by Chinese scientists. Qeeblan technology and know-how in converting ocean volcanoes and differences in ocean pressure into energy were quickly absorbed as well as their underwater guerrilla tactics.
The deep abysses of Bladun’s seas were rich in many critical minerals and metals, one of which was essential in wormhole generation. Keumigen crystal was found in large, economic quantities in about fifty places in the known universe. Bladun’s deep sea mines were thought to hold the largest reserves and the fact that they were on a habitable planet with a large local intelligent population made them unique. The material, used to make the lenses of the powerful wormhole creators, made Bladun a very important target.
Admiral Regis Perrin’s mothership, the IGN Devil’s Repent, was to lead the attack with a dozen destroyers and cruisers. Bladun was so important to the Chinese and their Orthodox allies that not one but two wormhole stations were built on opposite sides of the planet. The main station was built on one of the planet’s two moons while the backup station was on an orbit station. That meant three targets at once; the two stations and the ocean mines.
Perrin was a strong, hefty man whose childhood dream was to enter the navy. It seemed a good choice of work since he had inherited the sailor’s physique from generations of fishermen in his native city of La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast. He had to admit that sailing a boat on the sea and navigating a starship in outer-space were completely different experiences. Promotion came fast, however, and he even received a battlefield commission as a young petty officer, making him lieutenant. He once earned the respect of his crewmen after beating up a couple marines, who were supposedly much stronger and faster after their physical augmentations. He also gained the respect of the marines who often deployed from his fleet and, hence, frequently joined them when they boarded smuggling ships or conducted planetary invasions.
And just now, his hands were tingling with excitement at the prospect of action. He had never fought a full scale war with other Rendens but he had been in great battles against alien rebels. In truth, as much as he loved his job in the navy, he loved even more the action that marines got when their boots landed on strange planets for conquest.
The IGN Devil’s Repent and the other ships of his fleet waited patiently for the wormhole to open. With the constant movement of stars, systems and planets, it was not always easy to pinpoint exactly an exit point. According to intelligence, the main wormhole station had two dozen mega-class pulse cannons, six laser cannons and an unknown arsenal of rockets and missiles, as well as a fleet of hundreds of Chinese Phoenix fighter/drone deployers. At least half a dozen cruisers and destroyers would be guarding the planet orbit.
The wormhole station had changed the colour of the signalling lights from red to amber, which meant that the coordinates were set and the initiation phase had begun. In other words, they had two minutes before the wormhole was fully open.
“Commander Vidot” he called out to his number two. “Reconfirm the entry schedules and exit attack formations”
“Aye, sir” replied the Spanish officer before speaking into a communicator. “We have light speed in two minutes at five second intervals beginning with the mothership. IGN Silent Prayer and Saint Andrew are to immediately confront the backup wormhole station, IGN Faith, Jesus of Nazareth, Three Kings and Forgiven will follow and engage the deep water mines…”
The amber light soon started blinking and a countdown holograph was projected. Perrin always loved this part when the adrenalin levels built up. A film of sweat covered his forehead and made the edges of his short blond hair wet. He could feel his heart in his throat and each time it beat, it seemed as if blood was being piped at impossible speeds to his head.
When the countdown reached zero, the Devil’s Repent entered the wormhole at light speed with two cruisers, the IGN Saint Andrew and the IGN Silent Prayer at either side. The view suddenly changed and the emerald planet twice the size of Earth appeared before the Atlantic mothership. The main wormhole station was at the far side of the planet. Using its thrusters, the ship started towards the pink moon that housed the Chi
nese wormhole creator. In less than a minute the whole fleet of about thirty vessels arrived. By that time the Devil’s Repent had already launched its first missiles. The two cruisers that accompanied the mothership were heading towards the closer second wormhole station while the four destroyers that arrived in the second wave were entering orbit to attack the mines.
In naval tactics, the mothership was the last to attack and the first to retreat since the other ships depended on it for so many things, not least orders and commands. The giant motherships were cities in their own and were the only vessels that could house fusion generators large enough to power wormhole creators and not be drained completely of energy. They could only, however, create wormholes the size of a large house; only wide enough for small landing crafts and electronic messages. Even though motherships were usually heavily armed and armoured, their critical nature meant that they had to be given the maximum protection.
Perrin certainly wasn’t the type to sit back and watch a battle, however. The Devil’s Repent, shaped like a giant sword which was custom for Atlantic ships, cut through the dark vacuum towards the Chinese wormhole station. Even after almost three minutes, the Chinese defences were still not fully activated and the three missiles that were fired by the Devil’s Repent were only just intercepted. The defending forces were likely to be dumbfounded by the audacity of the attack.
The cruisers Saint Andrew and Silent Prayer were already attacking the second wormhole station with savage force. For every intercepted missile, two got through the defences. Only after the Atlantic wormhole through which the fleet had exited closed completely did several squadrons of Phoenix come swarming out of the orbit station on which the second wormhole creator was built. The pulse cannons of the station targeted the hull of Silent Prayer but after a few hits, shock shields were sent out by the Atlantic cruiser which suddenly stretched out into large circular sheets of silver that looked like cloths of silk. The shields were more than fifty feet across and if impacted by any kind of shock, would immediately envelope the explosion before dissolving.
One of the secondary station’s giant laser cannons was damaged while charging, leaving a broken black tube surrounded in red static. The other laser cannon managed to fire two bolts at Saint Andrew, damaging the light speed drive at the back. The destroyer IGN Moses came to the rescue, its own laser bolt penetrating a Chinese shock shield. The absorbed impact of the bolt, however, was not enough to penetrate the station’s armour, leaving an ugly black gash on its outer wall. The last thing the destroyer’s captain saw through his disbelieving eyes was a tactical nuclear missile making its way rapidly to the port side of the ship. A cruiser may have just about survived the blast but the destroyer cracked like and egg, spewing people, machines and components that even the gravity shield couldn’t hold in.
The Phoenix fighters were on Silent Prayer now, deploying hundreds of drones as they grew near. The helmets worn by the fighter pilots were filled with a special biological liquid that would amplify brainwave, effectively rendering the fighters extensions of the pilots’ bodies. The pilots themselves would have trained to test the limits of the fighters while transmitting instructions to the drones. The drones’ artificial intelligence did the rest. When it came to being surrounded by drones and fighters, the defenders had to play a game of cards in which the wrong card would mean nuclear explosion. Among the thousands of missiles launched, which one was a nuclear-tipped? Silent Prayer soon found out as a Chinese nuclear missile was intercepted within seconds of impacting the starboard side. The energy released from the explosion pushed both Silent Prayer and Saint Andrew virulently away while the crew of both ships struggled to regain control. The latter managed to only just avoid collision with another cruiser, Lord is my Shepard, before it stabilized using its thrusters.
Meanwhile, the four destroyers that went to attack the deep water mines were struggling against a surprising arsenal of weapons that ascended from the surface. Two more cruisers came to their aid, and tidal waves soon became apparent on the surface as more of their missiles homed in.
Devil’s Repent was almost within missile launch distance while using its laser cannon and pulse cannons so the main wormhole station would quickly deplete its stock of shock shields. But the defending forces used their shock shields only sparingly, preferring to take the relatively mild damage inflicted by pulse fire. Only when it was obvious that the Atlantic mothership’s laser cannons were charged did it shoot out a few shields to absorb the damage. In another thirty seconds the Devil’s Repent would be able to launch its missiles and the effective damage ratio would be justifiable. Perrin could not wait to yell “fire nukes!”
Just seconds before he could utter those words, the wormhole station suddenly started glowing green. Within seconds, a wormhole opened in front of them. The mothership second-in-command, Vidot, screamed the obvious. A few seconds later a dragon-shaped Chinese mother vessel exited. The name of the ship, CIN Gaozu, was written in bright yellow letters along with the yellow dragon insignia of the Chinese Imperial Armed Forces. The rest of the ship, save the ‘eyes’ of the dragon which were also yellow, was black, creating a contrast. Three cruiser class ships, shaped like leaping tigers with yellow-on-black stripes, appeared in a couple seconds. Within a minute, a whole Chinese fleet confronted the lone Atlantic mothership.
“Admiral, sir! A second Chinese fleet has appeared behind us and is engaging the rest of the fleet!” shouted the surveillance officer. The holograph projector showed a second, equally large fleet exiting a second a wormhole and directly engaging the rest of the fleet.
“Sir! What are your orders” asked Vidot brusquely.
Perrin’s face suddenly turned pale. He looked at his officers and then at the holographs of the Chinese fleets. Their fleet was now up against two wormhole stations and two Chinese fleets, not to mention surface defences. He suddenly became aware that they could not escape.
“Crush them. Crush them or die trying” he muttered.
Vidot grabbed him by a shoulder and turned the admiral towards him. “Sir, we need to get a communications wormhole open now”
“Then that would drain the energy from our lasers” rebuked someone on the bridge.
A blue light signalled that the admiral of one of the enemy fleets was hailing him. Perrin suddenly snapped out of the panic-trance and swallowed his saliva. “Answer the hail” he murmured unconfidently.
“Admiral, you are in the illuminating presence of His Highness, the Crown Prince. You are cut off from your fleet. Your destroyers and cruisers will be crushed but we are willing to accept surrender for your mothership. You will not be harmed as long as you cooperate” said the head of a young Chinese officer.
Everyone gasped when the head said ‘Crown Prince’. The notorious nature of Prince Han Xiao was well known. He would command the finest fleet in the Chinese navy, with all the state-of-the-art weaponry.
With a flick of his wrist, Perrin ordered the communication to be cut. Just then, two laser bolts from the enemy mothership hit Devil’s Repent and the shock ripped through the bridge. The timing of the bolts suggested that the Chinese had the intention to attack anyway. ‘Dishonourable chinks’ thought Perrin as he was thrown to the ground. The Chinese fleets and the swarms of Phoenix fighters started attacking the Atlantic fleet.
“Two cruisers are flanking us” shouted someone.
“Half of our fleet has already been destroyed!” shrieked another voice.
Perrin was thrown to the ground twice and when he finally took his seat and strapped himself in. “Damage report!” he shouted.
The ship security officer checked a holograph of the ship which showed the damaged parts in red.
“They’ve taken out our wormhole creator and our light-speed drive, sir” he yelled back.
“Gabriel, King David, Lord is My Shepard, Silent Prayer, Moses, and Saint Andrew have been nuked. Archangel, Ten Commandments, Children of Adam and Behold are seriously damaged and are seeking to crash land on t
he planet” said the operations commander.
No escape, no victory. I’m gonna take as many of these imperial dogs with me…
Just as he was about to give the order to launch all weapons against the Chinese Gaozu, a holograph projection showed the two Chinese cruisers flanking Devil’s Repent shooting out cannonballs like a sixteenths century naval battle on Earth. Wiping the perspiration from his eyes, Perrin staggered to the holograph and looked at it more carefully. When he realized what was happening, he lifted his head and shouted “To arms! We’re being boarded!”
Chapter 30: Huangjing
‘We like to think that our leaders are better than us, more objective than us, better informed than us, less inclined to rash decision than us. Leaders know that none of that is true.’ – Javor Vidic, Orthodox Empire Foreign Minister, 2650-2657
Fann looked down from the Heavenly Tower at the Imperial City he hadn’t seen for over four years. It was early evening and the warm spring air was permeated with the scent of plum blossoms. There was an air of serenity in the daily lives of the New Han citizens in Huangjing. Families walked the well-paved streets while their pets drank at the numerous fountains. Street vendors selling fried scorpions and red bean ice-cream were polite and well-dressed. Elderly people practiced the ancient art of brush calligraphy next to the Zhonghai Lake.
But there were black-clad guards patrolling every street and the ubiquitous surveillance units were cleverly disguised as parts of the plum trees and cherry blossoms. In the horizon, he could see in the clear air the Black Tortoise Gate Keeper, one of the four giant pieces of mobile weaponry that would guard the city from any attacks, both terrestrial and aerial.
