“Our main engine capable of seventy percent power.” The pilot scanned the ever-updating engineering report. “COM-Sat should be able to send messages in open space, however, we cannot receive.”
“Best we can do without a mechanics bay,” Commander Zhu said.
“That will have to do.” Captain Fei looked to the mended overhead. A smooth silver patch above and a similar one on the deck less than a meter away from his chair. Fei’s eyes shifted from deck to ceiling.
Commander Zhu came up behind Fei and pointed at the deck. “Once it was dead; eventually the hull’s grav-fluid and mending epoxy burned right through it. Our compression rounds had little effect. Over four meters of it was left on the inside stuck to the deck, looked like some kind of armored whale’s fluke with thick plates. We removed,” Zhu paused, “cut-out the carcass with a laser saw, sealed it in a containment crate and stowed it. Hull epoxy did the rest.”
Fei felt sick. “This thing, it killed Lieutenant Ko. Almost killed me.”
The commander looked around the bridge at the busy crewmembers. “I told Doctor Jampa, Ko was instantly killed. But when it punched through the hull it grazed Ko then fired off or released four large rounds, same as what hit our battle group. Two were damaged and we destroyed them with compression rounds. The other two, they attacked the lieutenant before we could destroy them. Sprang up and down, it was a blur. They hammered Ko into something unrecognizable in seconds.” Zhu looked like a ghost. “Captain, they were alive, living sledge hammers…”
“You saved my life, Commander, thank you. No one could have done better.”
Commander Zhu, leaned downward. “We have no missiles and only a few compression rounds left for the M40s.” Zhu exhaled, voice dropped to a whisper, “We don’t know if 10th Fleet has survived, Captain,” his head motioned to beyond the bow, “out there, against what we have seen moving through this field? We could have picked up the signatures of destroyed vessels, just pieces.”
Captain Fei remained silent, just stared ahead at the black field, the currents gently moving and shifting in all directions. He turned toward his friend, the commander he trusted with his life, again and again. “I would rather be out there in the open and defenseless, than to wait to be attacked again by something in here that we cannot see.” Fei looked to the silver patch on the deck hovering above the black sea beyond and then to the patch on the hull overhead.
“If the enemy follows the same strategy they did against our battle-group, and 10th Fleet is out there, they will move the field to protect whatever things are inside those pods. Based on what I witnessed, the discs will need little protection from anything.
“Agreed,” Commander Zhu said, “if or when they move the field, we move in the direction of the current.”
“Right to 10th Fleet,” Fei raised an eyebrow, “what could go wrong?” He straightened his aching body. “If the field moves, it will happen soon, the massive discs have moved into open space. If the field remains, we go full-burn anyway. Seventy percent power is good enough.”
Commander Zhu growled in agreement.
“That will be our opportunity, Commander,” Captain Fei stated with resolve. “We will see and feel the rush when their ocean of black pushes toward our countryman. We will ride this menacing wave to freedom, if only for a moment.”
74
Admiral Chen
10th Fleet
“Discs are still coming, Admiral. The Oortian Field remains static.” Commander Lee rotated toward Chen, lowered his voice. “Sir, should we turn the dreadnoughts and cruisers around? Back to Station Pluto before it’s too late?”
Chen kept an eye on the hologram in center of the bridge of the Qing Long. The Fleet was pushing back with bow thrusters only and eventually would be overtaken by the massive, chasing Oortian carriers, the discs. It will move, he thought, the dark field will come. Just like it did for Captain Fei’s battle group.
“Keep the bow thrusters burning, Commander. The field will move and when it does,” Chen growled, “it will be too late, for them.” He pointed at the vast carriers hunting 10th Fleet. The six Oortian discs tightened their circle around the seventh, packing in tight like a patch of scales or armored shields from the ancient battles of Rome. The surface of each carrier lit an amber hue, except for the one in center that remained black, a predatory eye watching, waiting.
“Battle-Net is picking up energy buildup,” Commander Lee stated, “radiating from the six on the outside. Growing stronger, Admiral.”
“Explosion?” Chen straightened in his chair.
“Different this time. More focused, more—”
“Like a weapon powering up,” Chen cut in and the Battle-Net sounded an alarm a second before the circling discs turned black and the center carrier flashed bright blue and ejected a circular mass of plasma at a supersonic pace.
All 10th Fleet saw was a flash of light and the disintegration of two Vipers positioned in front of the cruiser, the Lie Gong. The rail gun laden vessel displayed a gouge from bow to stern on her portside. A melted furrow cauterized instantly by the blast, not a drop of mending epoxy shown on the scar that fused five hull layers together.
“Full-burn! NOW, NOW, NOW!” Admiral Chen slammed back into his chair as the grav-systems kicked-in. Eight cruisers and three dreadnoughts of 10th Fleet shutdown their bow thrusters and ignited their main engines and accelerated at the Oortian carriers with tremendous force.
Chen focused on the hologram. They burst past the remaining Vipers and the damaged cruiser that continued to unload her rail guns even as she listed on her injured side.
“It’s moving! The field is coming!” Commander Lee’s hand hovered over the fire controls that would release the Dragon-Fire missiles.
“HOLD. HOLD.” Admiral Chen held up an open hand as they blasted closer, closer to the seven carriers, the texture of their vast shielding plates coming into focus. Skin? Porous like elephant hide, Chen thought, thick with fat, a subtle lift and fall of its mass. It’s breathing.
“Admiral!” Commander Lee yelled, the dreadnoughts pulling ahead of the cruisers, charging closer to the Oortians, “the field is picking up speed!”
You’re too late Chen thought, this time we strike first. “FIRE!” Chen roared. “Release the Dragons!” Chen slammed his fist into his armrest, his command chair shaking from the blunt force.
Six red, mega-missiles clawed out of their cradles, the thrust from their launch slowing the dreadnought’s progress. Hundreds of smaller, faster missiles fired from the cruisers led the way and the Dragons followed. The cruisers and dreadnoughts bow thrusters fired, their main engines fell dark and they began banking turns. Each boat pushing the capabilities of their grav-systems, even their construction, turning as tightly as possible while under full power. Anything not buckled down, strapped in or fused to the deck was tossed, turned and flung against the bulkheads.
“FULL BURN toward Battle Station Pluto! Viper group, hold your line, protect our retreat and full burn as soon as the cruiser and dreadnoughts are on their way.” Chen took a deep breath. “Make sure 10th get beyond the blast radius.”
Commander Lee flashed the order over the laser-beacon.
Chen swallowed hard and tapped the controls of his personal COM.
Captain Zhi of the damaged cruiser, the Lie Gong answered, “Yes, Admiral.”
“What is your situation, Captain?” Chen zoomed in on the holo-feed, focusing on the damaged cruiser.
“Twenty-eight dead,” the captain’s voice was strained, “they simply vanished with the hull. Main engine is compromised, but capable of full burn for now.”
“We have given ourselves a chance. Fate will decide the rest. Protect our rear.” Admiral Chen zoomed out again. The hologram expanded to include the entire 10th Fleet. The Lie Gong continued to anchor the Viper’s protective line.
We need distance, Chen thought. The third dreadnought finished its turn and headed towards the defensive line of Vipers, the other vessels already
beyond his covering position.
“First wave of missiles have made contact with carriers.” Commander Lee continued scanning the incoming data. “No apparent damage. Encroaching field is only ten klicks from covering the carriers.”
“Get the Viper line turned around.” Chen followed the six red dots moving unimpeded towards the Oortian carriers. They have no idea what is about to happen. A new experience in destruction, one even humanity has never witnessed, is upon you. A sickness settled in his stomach, Chen let it pass and thought of the ships lost, and crewmen killed. This act is just.
By closing the distance between 10th Fleet and the Oortian carriers, Chen had done exactly what he hoped. He altered the equation. The Oortian field continued to engulf more of the pods, rendering them invisible to the smaller missile guidance systems and their Battle-Net, but it was too late, the carriers and thousands of the pods were left unprotected.
“Ten, nine, eight… Defensive line has completed their turns, initiated full burn, covering our rear. It’s going to be close, Admiral!” Commander Lee gripped his station with both hands. “Brace yourselves! One…”
75
Captain Falco
Battle Station Pluto
Captain Falco and his officers remained fixed on the hologram floating above the round table in the Pluto Room. Each of them moving toward the image, sweat dripping off foreheads, fingers tapping the polyslab top.
The remainder of 10th Fleet was in full retreat and moving at max speed toward Station Pluto.
“They’re almost in position.” Falco motioned toward the six streaking embers, the Dragon missiles closing in.
“Oh god. It’s happening,” whispered Lieutenant Wallace after the first ember came to a stop. One after the other, the rest of the mega-missiles followed every 500 meters. A perfect line formed. It began behind the massive Oortian Carriers, stretching along the seven pod-covered poles and ending near the encroaching Oortian field.
“The wall has almost reached the first…” Ensign Holts paused. “What is that?”
A haze grew from the six embers, creating an opaque cloud growing behind the Oortian carriers with the line of six Dragon missiles at its center.
“Stage one, spread,” stated Commander Shar’ran. He pushed back from the table, creating distance from the hologram.
Falco instinctively followed suit and leaned back in his chair.
The Oortian field rushed in to cover the first missile and the opaque cloud pulsed red then orange and back to red while it expanded further in all directions, but toward the field. There, the field swallowed red, a faint pinkish glow was all that hinted at what might be happening within its camouflage.
“Stage two, ignition.” Shar’ran stared ahead, eyes hollow.
Everything within the cloud disintegrated. Energy rolled up and over the Oortian carriers. Melting layers that looked like skin then blubber, melted and burned like lamp oil. The dark field slowed to a crawl and stopped just short of the flaming carriers. Blue flashes came and went across the face of the Oortian field.
Burning spheres the size of small homes burst out of the blackness, zigging and zagging in all directions only to slow and explode into cooling chunks. Hull Pounders fizzled into heaps of ash and dispersed in the solar winds. So many shapes and sizes, Falco thought, species or weapons, organic or not, they looked to be suffering and dying by the thousands.
Falco thought back to a childhood memory. His grandparents’ vineyard was surrounded by forest on the west side. One drought-filled summer, a fire raged through the trees and threatened the vineyard. Falco stood with his grandparents in the center near the pond and helplessly watched the blaze.
His grandmother held a flowing garden hose that pulled from the pond. It was not to protect the vineyard from the fire, the cleared buffer around the vines would do that. Falco soon found out the purpose of the hose. Worse than the heat, the dying trees and the smoke was what erupted out of the inferno.
The shy, beautiful roe deer shot through the flames, their unusual barking sound turned to gravely screams. They ran for their lives alone or in groups only to drop in burning heaps at the edge of the vines. Falco’s grandmother extinguished the flames and waited for the next deer to fall.
A light brought Falco back to the moment. He raised an arm, covering his eyes.
Blue fire consumed the entire hologram and rolled out it in waves. The Oortian carriers were gone and every trace of carnage that staggered out of the field disappeared with it.
“Why blue?” Falco’s voice rang haunted, distant, “and how in the hell is 10th Fleet going to outrun that energy wave?”
“Methane.” Ensign Holts swallowed hard, her face resting in her hands. “Oortians use methane for fuel or blood or something. Methane burns blue, as does the hottest part of the fire. But, it would also require oxygen.” She input information into her data-pad. “They won’t outrun the wave and neither will we.”
“10th Fleet is still a long way from us.” Falco glanced at Ensign Holts to find her intense, brown eyes already on him.
“Just over seven hours,” Commander Shar’ran moved his head side to side, “assuming they keep their present speed.”
“And nothing else slows them down.” Falco saw the devastation, even felt pity and remorse for the Oortian losses from the Dragon missiles. What he could not, would not believe, was that the Oortians would not retaliate in full and as soon as they could muster their available or remaining forces. They would come and they would want to destroy everything in their path.
Because that is what Falco would do.
“Incoming energy wave,” Holts scanned her sensor feed, “weak, but the fact it reached us this quickly means it was a powerful blast.”
The Battle-Cubes of the Infinity Wall lit with a rolling wave of light. The Pluto Room grew bright, the lights flickered and fell to shadows and came on again.
The COM flashed green and Commander Lee’s voice sounded. “10th Fleet clear, Admiral Chen. All vessels heading toward Station Pluto, full burn.” A heavy breathing Commander Lee paused for a few seconds. “Viper Battle group protecting the rear. No Oortians in pursuit. Sensors are clear. The Oortian field is stationary once again.”
Time between each blue flash grew until finally, the great black wall that hid the Oortian forces fell slack and calm.
A roaring cheer burst from the open-COM, jolting Falco and his officers back into the present. Seconds past and the COM fell silent, its green light turning red.
Falco looked to Commander Shar’ran whose eyes moved between the officers. Falco again found his focus on the hologram feed from the stern of Admiral Chen’s command ship. The Oortian field still looked ominous, an endless black wall with no top or bottom.
“Captain,” Ensign Holts looked up from her data screen, “our current theory is that the Oortian field expanded when they had the materials needed to increase its size. Just as we would add another layer of bricks to a wall or add an additional room to a house when the resources where available.”
“Do you have another theory, Ensign?”
“I have updated the Battle-Net model with the latest data from 10th Fleet’s scanners regarding the area of the field. I believe this time, the Oortian field did not grow, it moved.”
“They moved the entire field?” Falco stood and prowled around the table, eyes locked on the holo-feed. “You think the Oortians moved a cloaking field the size of our solar system? To protect a single fighting force?”
“That is what the data suggests. Soon the 10th will be too far away from the Oortian field and our joined sensor feed will be of little use.” Ensign Holts sounded confident. “We have to think beyond our own abilities and perceived possibilities. What applies to humanity, may not apply to the Oortians.”
Lieutenant Wallace folded his arms. “How can we think outside of all that we know? Every action or reaction is based on the evolution of apes on earth with goddamn opposable thumbs.” Lieutenant Wallace sucked in a deep breat
h. “Throw in a century of crude space exploration and we still know nothing of our own solar system.” Wallace’s Scottish brogue was back in full force.
“Easy, Lieutenant,” Falco turned toward Commander Shar’ran. “So they can move the field. What was uncovered?” Falco felt curiosity overcome a growing dread, for the moment.
Ensign Holts continued to scan her screen while Shar’ran chimed in. “All we see is open space. The Battle-Net can only give us an overview from this distance based on modeling. There looks to be no planets or other large objects in the newly opened space. Could be an asteroid field similar to the one the Oortian Hull Pounders were hiding in.”
“In other words,” Falco shook his head, “we know nothing, only that the Oortians may have the ability to expand and move a field capable of rendering everything in it invisible.”
“Yep, that’s it.” Commander Shar’ran’s data-pad linked to the Battle-Net, sounded an alert. “Faint, partial optical lock on the surface of the field.” Shar’ran looked to Ensign Holts who was also scanning the incoming data. “You getting this?”
“Yes.” Holts adjusted the settings, zoomed in on the dark field, and looked to the hologram where small lights pulsated across the face of the Oortian wall.
“Stars.” Falco turned to Commander Shar’ran who had already begun to punch up the data feed. “Hard lock?”
“No, just a faint optical hit. They are moving in and out of the field. Amassing forces maybe. What else could it be?” His voice fell to a murmur. “Dragon missiles, a needle to an elephant.”
A small green spark flashed over the hologram and was gone. “Did you see that?” Falco looked to his officers.
“That’s a fleet beacon.” Commander Shar’ran looked to the Battle-Net data. “There again. Got it! Coordinates locked. It’s gone.”
Falco moved to the hologram, fixed on the area where the green spark appeared on the face of Oortian wall. “They’re growing in number.” The blinking stars were now covering the field. “There!” Falco stated, his finger pointing at the surface of the black wall and again, it was gone.
Darkness: Book One of the Oortian Wars Page 33
