She gave a final order and closed the thought-stream before it was consumed by their fear and pain. Kalis ignited her energy bloom and held her position. Behind her, seven Krell ignited their mass and blasted past her one after the other, increasing their speed, surely screaming as they went. Kalis imagined the scent that must emanate off the crisping meat, the black trailing, oil filled smoke infused with fear and flesh. Maybe she could find a way to collect it. The final beast blazed by. Kalis adjusted her energy bloom and released, accelerating through the cleared path within the mining field, a great streak of armored crimson malice.
Shards of the enemy’s weapons clanked off her armored plates. Rock and ice exploded and joyfully rattled off her carapace, harmlessly bouncing back into the mining field. Frozen methane sacs, organs and skull-plates littered her way. Pieces of Seekers doing what Seekers do best, she thought, dying.
Kalis reopened their shared thought-stream. Wanting, no, needing to hear the Krell’s wondrous cries increasing in direct relation to the amount of melting flesh that fueled them and created their beautiful, growing infernos. The sound was soothing to Kalis and the beasts were great fodder for a worthy adversary. But soon, the Krell would sadly fall silent.
Just in time for the slaughter to begin.
80
Captain Falco
the Charge of Battle Station Pluto
Battle Station Pluto was moving toward 10th Fleet at an impressive clip, the newly anointed station turned spacecraft humming with activity. Battles replaced skirmishes and the second 10th Fleet fired the Dragon missiles. Humanity was on the verge of its first war among the stars and in its own neighborhood. Battle Station Pluto became humanity’s line in the sand, a line moving toward the Oortian fleet.
Captain Falco stood outside of the Pluto Room barking orders. “Every second counts!” Falco looked to his officers. The Oortian’s shuttle-sized fireballs added another level of urgency to the defenders of Station Pluto. And what of the thing that followed them, Captain Falco thought, ‘it’ was bigger than the Anam Cara.
“Chief Tenzin, make sure every officer has a micro-COM and spread the rest among the Battle-Cubes.” Falco paused and placed a thin silver band behind his ear and held out a silver case towards the chief. Instantly the micro-COM slid down and conformed between his skull and the base of his ear. He whispered a code and the end of the micro-COM glowed green.
“Keep everyone on the open station. It’s critical they can punch into the command channel and I’ll deal with the situations as the arise,” he exhaled hard, “or the officer in charge will deal with it.” Hopefully Falco contemplated, that will still be me.
“Yes, sir.” Tenzin grabbed the case and was off.
“Captain.” Commander Shar’ran called from the hatchway of the Pluto Room where he was scanning the incoming feeds of the final preparations. “Admiral Chen on the main-COM.”
“Push him through to command channel.” Falco reached up and tapped near his ear three times, opening the channel.
Admiral Chen’s voice filled his head before he was ready. “Your ‘flying station’ shows you cannot follow orders, Captain, hopefully you have done a better job preparing it for battle.”
Falco shook his head. “Yes, Admiral. Battle Station Pluto is as ready as it can be, sir. Civilian vessels are under sail toward Mars Station. They should encounter Vice-Admiral Hallsworth in a few years.”
“Battle Station Pluto?” Chen asked.
Falco ignored the mocking tone. “Starship Pluto, will rendezvous with 10th Fleet in two hours, Admiral.” Falco turned toward Commander Shar’ran who remained in the hatchway, held up his hand, shrugged his shoulders, mouthed the word two. Shar’ran returned a questioning look, glanced down at his portable data-pad and nodded in agreement.
“We make our stand then, Captain.” Admiral Chen signed off.
Falco tapped at the side of his micro-COM. “I want all officers in the Pluto Room immediately.”
Minutes later Captain Falco found himself looking around the slab table where every officer of Battle Station Pluto, some newly minted and others old friends, sat watching the hologram feed. Each of them wore a med-suit under their uniform, Falco shifted, feeling the paper-thin bands of the suit stretch around his body. He did his best to block out the image of what the suit could do if it malfunctioned. He failed and visualized a roast pushed back and forth across a slicer. Still, Falco felt... better to have it on.
“We have done everything we can to ready our vessel. We have taken a mining and tourist station, turned it into a battle station and now turned that into a starship. Anything that can be fired, shot or that explodes is prepped and ready for use. 10th Fleet is two hours out based on our current speed.” He watched heads turn, eyes moved from face to face. “Two hours is an eternity when that is chasing you,” Falco pointed at the hologram feed, “we will do everything we can to push this bucket faster. When we reach the Fleet,” he took a deep breath, released it with unnerving calm, “it begins.”
Falco moved around the table, making eye contact with each and every officer. He finished with Ensign Holts, the two simply nodding.
Falco moved to the hatch and turned. “I am proud to be your captain. More than that, I am proud of who you are. We fight for each other. Battle stations.”
81
Admiral Chen – 10th Fleet
Fighting Retreat
“Admiral Chen, the Oortian Hull Pounders are being replaced faster that we can destroy them.” Commander Lee paused. “The group following them is passing through unharmed. Lie Gong and the Vipers are destroying the asteroid field and some of the Hull Pounders, but the others are holding back, moving carefully and quickly.”
Chen watched the ferocity with which his commander followed the Battle-Net screen. The new flanking enemy force drew closer while passing through the tunnel of floating rock and ice created by the suicidal Hull Pounders. Missiles and lead slugs continued to pound at the field from the side, creating smaller and smaller fragments that made the ordnance less effective and gave the Oortians greater protection.
Chen scanned the command center of the Qing Long. “We must slow down the fireballs, their size could easily destroy a cruiser, even disable a dreadnought.” Another puff of energy blazed towards the end of the asteroid field. The Hull Pounders bore closer to finishing the tunnel, the seven burning spheres closing in on their suicidal counterparts. But it was the largest of them. The one that followed from far behind, a glistening red blur that the crew were already calling, Yama in hushed whispers.
Something about it felt wrong. It moved like a predator, always hiding its form and never giving the sensors a full view. It reminded Chen of an assassin stalking, waiting, fearless and patient. But Yama... the crew may be right, it could be the ‘King of Hell’ released to punish the wicked. He shook his head.
“Update, Commander.”
“10th Fleet is three minutes twelve seconds ahead of the stern and largest Oortian force. They have matched our current speed.”
“They’re the herders.” Admiral Chen knew they were trying to separate the Fleet or at least make them turn from the flanking force. “They hunt the Fleet as a pack of wolves pushing and probing until the strong leave the weak behind.”
Every crewman aboard each vessel knew the dreadnoughts and cruisers could outrun the damaged Lie Gong and Vipers, leaving them to fend for themselves. But could the dreadnoughts and cruisers outrun the Oortians and for how long? And where to? Chen thought. The People’s Navy had a history of fighting and dying as one. Battles fought to protect a single vessel that flew the red and yellow of the ‘Middle Kingdom,’ while losing hundreds, even thousands of lives. But that was then, Chen thought, a time of reckless abandon, a time when major reinforcements were not years away.
“Sixty-two seconds until we clear the asteroid field…” The bridge waited in rapt silence for the next number while Commander Lee scanned the incoming feed. “Forty seconds to contact with the flanking f
orce.”
Flames belched from the seven spheres hurtling through the asteroid field alongside the Fleet. “But it is the trailing shadow that leads them,” Chen muttered, punching at the data-pad on his armrest. The floating scene froze. Small puffs of energy hung toward the end of the asteroid field, Hull Pounders smashing their way through the center. Seven fiery balls of god-knows-what, followed and a glimpse of a great red beast, pieces of it seen between bits of rock, ice, lead and gore.
Admiral Chen tapped at his data-pad and the scene slowly moved backwards. “There.” Chen touched the pad, the scene froze. He reached forward from his command chair, placed his hands on the outside of the hologram image and pulled outward, zooming in on the red mass. “That is impossible,” he whispered, keeping his voice to himself. A red-plated creature looked directly at him, large black eyes sunken deep into an elongated skull that sat at the end of a long, thick neck. The rest was hidden behind debris. But the white spikes protruding out of the slit that crossed its face. Tusks? “It’s smiling. Yama...” Chen cleared his holo-feed, spun his chair in the direction of the Battle-Net station.
“Commander Lee, prepare to fire. Synchronize starboard vessels. Coordinate missile launch to enemy’s estimated exit point.” They had one chance to stop the infernos or risk stopping none. “We must hit them the moment they leave the protection of the asteroid field.”
Let’s give the Oortian chasing force something to think about. “Viper line, launch all Data-Pods.” Chen followed the main hologram. The commander flashed the order across the laser beacon. Within seconds, sixty harmless orbs, the size of the enemy’s Hull Pounders, shot out of the eleven patrol boats like roman-candles. Ignited and flew towards the chasing Oortian fleet. Give them other targets, Chen thought, while we save our missiles.
Minutes past and distant flashes lit the hologram. Oortian Hull Pounders smashing into Data-Pods.
“Eighteen Data Pods destroyed. Thirty-three, forty-two destroyed. They are leaving the rest, Admiral,” Lee stated. Oortian main force allowed eighteen pods to pass untouched. “They’re increasing speed, sir.”
And so it finally begins, Chen thought. “Viper line, match Oortian speed, fire at will, main Oortian force.”
Commander Lee flashed the order.
Chen opened the Fleet-wide COM. “Sync to Qing Long’s speed.”
Chen opened a private line to Captain Zhi of the rail gun laden Lie Gong. “Captain, maintain a safe distance ahead of the Vipers. Aid the line for as long as you can and then your best speed. You will be the rear guard of the main fleet.”
“Yes, Admiral!” The COM fell silent. Captain Zhi and all officers of 10th Fleet understood the Viper defensive line was the only chance they had. If the line failed to slow the enemy advance? The thought was a waste of time so Chen moved on.
Streaking embers flew in waves at the vast and relentless pack of Oortian pursuers. The Viper line locked and launched. Enemy Hull Pounders working together, accelerating towards each other and changing course at the last moment, terminally locked missiles slammed into other missiles. Some Hull Pounders met them head-on while others simply stopped and allowed the warhead to destroy them.
“They are protecting the larger vessels,” Chen turned towards Commander Lee, “the rest of the Oortian Fleet remain untouched.” Another Hull Pounder met an incoming missile heading toward a larger form, a human-sized mass resembling an armored squid.
Another wave of missiles raged toward the advancing Oortians. Hull Pounders exploded, again and again, each eventually ramming into a missile, never attempting to attack the vessels firing them. The Viper line sputtered a few final warheads and the spinning, bare cradles slowed and came to a halt. The eleven Viper class boats were empty.
Hot slugs spat from the Lie Gong, daggers ripping and tearing at the Oortians. She desperately fired toward the waves of incoming Hull Pounders, their numbers dwindling as they closed for the kill. A lone laser beacon flashed from the center Viper. The senior captain of the defensive line issued a final order to a battle-group who knew their fate the moment they formed the defensive line.
Eleven Viper class patrol boats of the People’s Navy split into two groups, each banking hard away from the Fleet, arcing back towards their pursuers. Hot lead projectiles zipped past the boats. The Lie Gong faded into the distance, but continued her hopeless support. Lead slugs flashed from her rails as fast as the automated system could load them. The remaining Hull Pounders died with each detonating slug and were gone.
“Hull Pounders are destroyed, Viper line can turn back towards… oh no.” Commander Lee fell silent.
The larger Oortian spheres belched out new forces. Sixty-three Oortian squids appeared and ignited, separating into two groups that changed direction like schools of fish evading predators. Slugs from the Lie Gong’s rail guns continued their assault, popping the squid-like forces like water balloons.
Admiral Chen followed the hologram of horrors, hanging in the center of his command ship’s bridge. The Oortian forces were close enough for a camera feed. The gory remains of every dying Oortian squid froze solid; soon to be drawn into the asteroid field, soon to be stellar fossils… and they kept coming. The only thing the Oortian forces seemed to share in common with each other was the plating on their hulls or bodies and their sleek, shark-like heads or bows. Chen zoomed in on the floating remains. Bodies with heads, he thought, they are creatures with organs and flesh.
Tiny foamy-white plumes burst from the hulls of the Viper patrol boats. Oortian squids, each a living projectile pierced their layered exteriors only to exit on the other side. They turned in large arcing sweeps, each black carapace covered in white streaks of hardening epoxy. A lead slug removed the head of one, but the rest took aim at the foaming Vipers, ignited and tore through the vessels over and over.
The matte-black predators of the People’s Navy foamed from hundreds of rust colored scabs, the result of Oortian fluids mingling with the flowing repair epoxies. There was nothing the rest of 10th Fleet could do, but hope the sacrifice would buy them the time to reach Battle Station Pluto before the Oortians caught them. The Lie Gong, failing engine slowing her run, continued to fire at the Oortian pack feasting on the dying Vipers. The Viper hulls were more foaming white than black, new scabs forming with each passing second.
“They’ve almost reached the end of the asteroid field.” Commander Lee’s hand hovered over the launch controls. “Missile’s away.”
Admiral Chen’s eyes were wet. He swallowed hard and took his focus from his battered and dying Viper line and followed the barrage launching from the starboard cruisers. Fields of red embers burned towards their coordinates one klick from the end of the asteroid field.
“Three seconds to impact, two. They have broken through!”
Seven flaming spheres erupted through the side of the asteroid belt a few klicks from the end, behind the 10th Fleet. They formed a boomerang shape. Burning chunks along with fragmented rock and ice exploded outward. Further down the asteroid field, hundreds of missiles hammered harmlessly into the far end of the field where the tunnel was just cleared by the death of the last Hull Pounder.
“Where is the red one?” Lee continued to follow the scrolling feed from the Battle-Net. “We have hard-lock on the seven, Admiral. Where is the eighth, where is Yama?”
Chen had seen enough and punched the Fleet-wide-COM. “10th Fleet, Phantom formation.” He sat heavily and tightened his harness.
“Captain Zhi, bring the Lie Gong up and cover our stern,” Chen ordered, knowing it was too late. She had stayed too long defending the doomed patrol boats. Her engine failing, Captain Zhi and his crew had chosen an honorable end.
Three dreadnoughts formed a triangle with Chen’s command ship at the head. The defensive formation was named after ‘the Phantom of the North,’ the Great Gray owl. Under its protection, the forest would thrive, Chen thought, while the eight smaller missile cruisers moved underneath the dreadnoughts forming another triangle. “
Full burn!”
The hologram feed grew bright, eleven main engines burning in unison, pushing beyond safe capacities, running all out to Battle Station Pluto and the hope of a final stand.
“Oortians are turning, joining the main chasing force!” Commander Lee stated over the rumbling and vibrating decks and stations. The sounds fell silent on bridge, the grav-system equalizing the added thrust.
The hologram filled with seven round infernos charging back toward the chasing Oortian Fleet. Between them, eleven listing Vipers foamed and rolled from the ongoing strikes from the now white Oortian squids. Chen watched in horror – wrapped around the center burning sphere was a red, glowing patch, heavily plated, its form backlit by the flames raging around its edges. Two black eyes above a tusk-filled mouth looked at Chen. It was smiling while the spheres blazed towards Chen’s tortured vessels.
Commander Lee turned toward the Admiral, tears streaming down his cheeks. “We must fire!”
“We cannot, Commander.” Chen looked to the deck under his feet. “We cannot waste another—”
“How can you say that?” Lee pleaded. “They are killing our people, toying—”
“ENOUGH!” Chen was out of his harness and standing. “They will do what is needed! They will do their duty as will you, Commander!” Chen fell silent, the scene on the hologram playing out. The Lie Gong floated above the Vipers, Oortian squids entering and exiting their hulls like knives, again and again. Cats toying with wounded mice.
In a final act of defiance, the Lie Gong cut her mid-ship stabilizers and began spinning. Her rail guns spat out self-detonating slugs in all directions. They exploded only meters beyond her hull. Lead cut through Oortians of every size, Vipers, and even her own battered hull.
Six of the burning spheres smashed into Vipers. Instead of exploding, the spheres covered the ships bow to stern in a burning sludge. The seventh sphere waited, a large red form unwrapped itself from the sphere before moving a safe distance away. The last sphere charged into the Lie Gong, covering the spinning ship in fire and heat. Flames grew stronger from each vessel, fire feeding on the leaking oxygen – draining the life support systems.
Darkness: Book One of the Oortian Wars Page 36
