The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3)

by Kocho Trajchevski

  Good speed and god luck to you.”

  Lights flashed as he finished his speech and left the stage. The speech was delivered everywhere, even to the fleet.

  The AI’s thought it was important and felt the power that that speech gave to everyone who heard it. They could see the soldiers standing a little taller and a determination on their faces. There were a lot of shows on the net, lots of novels, games, movies that showed a moment like this.

  And they could see that what was shown in to those things now on the faces of their crews. There was no fear, no panic. There was nothing but silence and iron determination not to fail.

  The Dacarians were in for a rude awakening, and one that they will never forget.

  While the fleet prepared itself on Earth the population quietly dispersed in to the country side and to the prepared shelters. Those that stayed in to the cities continued their work, and did the things they dreamed of.

  Humanity was at peace, and calm before the storm that was now just hours away.

  Those that believed in god prayed and gathered in to the churches, the mosques, the synagogues and the temples, for the first time Muslim prayed along Christian and Hebrew. The faith that divided them for so long now united them in to a single prayer, prayer to every god where ever he might be, to give the strength to those brave few souls, to give them hope and power to keep the line, and stop the night before it consumes the light.

  They prayed for their Spartans up there on the far edge of the solar system.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  27 June 13.10 hours

  Proxima Centaury

  It took a little over four and half hours for the alien fleet to reach the warp point. Once they reached there they remained in place for several more hours. The delay was because of the last preparations of the crews of all ships and the needed repairs.

  Voran watched as the fleet lined up in to formation before the warp point and ships started disappearing in to its vortex. He turned towards Sokar.

  “So it finally begins.”

  “Yes my lord.”

  “Is the rear guard ready?”

  “Yes my lord, the 27th squadron formed and deployed thirty arns ago.”

  “Good. Kerak is a good commander.”

  After this Voran turned and looked at the screen that was showing the warp point. It less than a minute the Ahairna and the entire fleet except fifty seven ships disappeared in to the warp point and started their transition through it to the Solar System confident in their superior power and victory.

  Fifty seven ships stayed behind. Four battleships, one light carrier that suffered damage to its engines that took longer to be repaired, four heavy cruisers, ten light battle cruisers, eight destroyers, twelve frigates and eighteen corvettes. The ships deployed in loose formations around the warp point.

  Kerak relaxed on his bridge and focused on planning his own mission for mapping the two systems both this one and the other one less than a light year away.

  At the same time the humans started their plan.

  Jennings watched as the fleet disappeared through the warp point. Then he activated the inter come.

  “It is time. The moment we all knew and waited for, the moment we trained for is here. I can’t promise you that we will all see this thing through, but I can promise you that we will give them hell.

  Give me your best that is all I ask. We all know what’s at stake here. We know our duty, now it is time for our fight. They came here for it, they chose it and started it but as god is my witness we will finish it.”

  He shut down the link, and turned to his communication officer.

  “Send the signal.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Jennings turned to Linda.

  “And so it begins.”

  “Yes it was time.”

  He smiled and came closer to her.

  He whispered in to her ear.

  “I love you. I will love you no matter what.”

  Her answer was in her eyes. The same eyes that made him feel lost every time he looked at them.

  He returned to his seat and she took hers.

  And before them the battle of Proxima Centaury started.

  Eliot Sanders nodded as his communications officer looked at him.

  The signal came just a second ago. It was a Morse code signal launched in several clicking signals that were mixed in the radio noise that the star generated. Undetectable for anyone who doesn’t know what he is looking at, just like the Dacarians.

  “Okay people let’s do it. Launch the ship. I want passive sensors only at the beginning. But I want to bounce them of their sensors so that they know.”

  The sensor officer smiled. She was a young twenty three years old girl named Kate from Liverpool. She was one of the best sensor operators that managed pretty fast to get used to the new technology that got her this assignment.

  “Yes sir.”

  The Intrepid rose slowly using only the thrusters. As it left the frozen surface of Miridem it slowly rose in to the atmosphere and in to dark star field sky. As it left the planet it slowly drifted towards the Dacarian fleet.

  Kate turned toward her captain.

  He just nodded.

  “I’m activating the radar Sir.”

  “Turn the ship and head towards Proxima and send a signal to the fleet that the operation Hammer is a go.”

  “Signal sent sir.”

  “Ok I guess now all that is left is the waiting.”

  It didn’t take long for the Dacarian ships to detect the Intrepid. The converted research ship was detected several seconds after it activated its radar.

  The scan caught the Dacarians by surprise.

  “My lord we are being scanned.”

  Kerak turned toward the legionary that addressed him and looked with a surprise.

  “What did you say?”

  “We were scanned my lord.”

  “How can that be? This system doesn’t have a space faring civilization. And there are no detectable signs in the neighborhood about a space faring race. Nothing except the signals from the system the humans live in.”

  “It is sure my lord. The scans show a ship heading towards the second planet.

  Kerak stood up and went to the officer that was responsible for the sensors.”

  “Show me.”

  The officer obeyed and a moment later a holographic image of the Intrepid appeared.

  Kerak looked at the strange ship. From the design it didn’t look like a military ship. It looked more like a scout ship or a passenger liner like some races used...The scans showed a small amount of armor plates and no shields.

  “I want you to do another sensor sweep of the system. See if there are any other ships in system”.

  It took several moments for the scan to be finished.

  “No other ships are present sir. It is alone.”

  “Strange.”

  “Perhaps it is a scout ship that was researching this system when we jumped in. It probably hid until the fleet transitioned through the warp point.”

  He looked at the centurion that said that. It sounded good and he shared that opinion.

  “Send two corvettes to capture it and bring it here. I want to examine it. Tell them that I want prisoners, and the ships data. I don’t care how they do it but they have to capture it without doing too much damage.”

  “Yes my lord.”

  The tribune saluted and gave the order.

  Two corvettes separated from the fleet and accelerated toward the strange ship.

  As the corvettes started heading towards them the crew of Intrepid watched with a shark like smile. So far everything was going according to plan.

  “The bastards are falling for it.”

  He turned toward the helm and the AI that appeared.

  This one was a male. It called itself Atar.

  “Indeed they are.”

  “Atar I want you to wait for another five minutes. I want them closer. Then accelerate. And u
se some strange language, some language from tribes back on Earth. Try to communicate.”

  The AI gave him a sarcastic smile.

  “Yes captain.”

  “You sure are fitting in to the role.”

  “Well if we have to play it better do it to the best of our abilities.”

  Five minutes later after Atar sent several attempts to communicate in several imagined languages combining words from languages spoken on Earth the Intrepid accelerated.

  As it did the two ships that were following it went to full power. They were faster and they were closing in.

  Jennings watched as the Intrepid accelerated and the pursuers did the same. The small fleet of ten ships was slowly moving toward Proxima. They started moving the moment the Intrepid launched but they were using a slingshot maneuver and not using the engines. It still gave them an astonishing speed.

  He looked at his crew. They were ready.

  “How much time before they reach the Intrepid. Twenty minutes Sir. They should be in firing range in fifteen.”

  “Go to full power in ten. Increase our speed slowly now at power levels that won’t be detectable.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The time passed slowly. All the time the intrepid was running form opposite directions the twenty seven military ships were silently springing their trap. The squadron of sixteen ships left the asteroid belt the moment the fleet transitioned through the warp point. They were moving slowly just using their maneuvering thrusters to gain speed at the start and then just drifting towards the warp point. It was nerve braking but they all just watched and waited for the trap to be fully sprigged. It didn’t take long.

  Ten minutes later Jennings watched as the two corvettes halved the distance to the Intrepid.

  “Go to full power…Now!!!”

  It took only a few seconds for the ships to go from silent running to full military power.

  Kerak was calmly watching the chase as his sensor operative jumped.

  He turned towards the surprised legionary.

  “What is it?”

  “My lord ten more ships just came on line in the shadow of the second planet.”

  “What kind of ships? Are they Scout ships like this one?”

  “No my lord, we are reading massive amounts of armor plates and power. They are military ships.”

  “Damn the gods. It was a trap.”

  “The ship we followed sent several hails on a strange language my lord.”

  Kerak knew that the legionary was right. The hails sounded strange but they obviously tried to communicate. They didn’t know that he didn’t have such intention. He looked at the display that showed the holographic image of the ships. They were military ships but they looked primitive and small. They were about the size of a light cruiser.

  “Inform captain Ahia that I want his group to go after them. Call Vosk and tell him to slow down and wait for reinforcements. They want battle let us see them what they can do.”

  His order was sent immediately. Moments later seventeen ships disconnected from the fleet and at full power raced to meet the ten ships that were heading towards the corvettes.

  The small fleet consisted of one battleship, one heavy and four light cruisers, three destroyers, four frigates and four corvettes. At the same time that they accelerated the two corvettes that were far ahead slowed down.

  “Sir seventeen ships just separated from the fleet. They took the bait.”

  Jennings looked at the screen. It was a powerful enough fleet but it wasn’t enough. He had to draw them out.

  “Yes but it seems that they are cautious. We need to draw them out.”

  He looked at his wife and at the others on the bridge. As he watched them he thought about his options. He knew that he could offer battle, but he needed some kind of edge, some way that will allow him to destroy this small fleet or damage it enough that it will draw the other ships out and allow for Elisabeth and her ships to close the trap. He knew that they were closing in.

  “How long do we have until we enter maximum firing range for the MAC canons?”

  “Two minutes Sir.”

  He looked at the positions of the enemy ships. The corvettes were far ahead of the other seventeen ships but the other group was closing in fast.

  “Open a link to the Intrepid.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  A moment later he heard Sanders voice.

  “Admiral…”

  “Eliot we need a different approach. We have to draw them out. All of them.”

  There was a small silence at the other side.

  “I know Sam. What do you want me to do? I can stop and attack the corvettes. I believe I have the fire power to destroy them.”

  Jennings considered his proposal for several moments. Then he shook his head.

  “No. you need to stay out of the fight for now. They still think you are not capable of military action. We need something else.”

  At that moment Linda joined the conversation.

  “Captain Sanders the Intrepid has nuclear warheads doesn’t it?”

  “Yes Captain. We have twenty warheads. They are our second offensive weapon.”

  “What is their power?”

  “Ten fifty megatons and ten twenty five…”

  “What are you thinking Linda?”

  She turned toward her husband. Jennings looked at her.

  “If we destroy the corvettes he can in the short time he has release those bombs on the path of the second fleet. That way we will have a second mine field. And when they reach it… The warheads should at least damage them and we can finish them. That will draw them out for sure.”

  Jennings smiled.

  “Yes that should work.”

  “Captain I want you to prep fifteen of those warheads and the moment we destroy the corvettes I want you to release them. And don’t stop come towards us. We will need you to open fire from some of your less powerful weapons to cover our firing.”

  “Yes sir. I will be ready, Intrepid signing out.”

  Sanders gave the order immediately after disconnecting. A minute later his crew was ready. He looked at the disposition of the enemy fleet. The seventeen ships were still fifteen minutes out the corvettes were closer.

  He turned towards the AI.

  “Atar I want you to fire several shots from the rear point defense systems and the Rail guns. Time it with MAC firing of the fleet.”

  “Yes Captain.”

  The Ai just turned and watched the screen. It didn’t really have any need for it considering that it was tied in to all of the ships systems.

  All that was left now was to wait.

  Jennings looked at the display.

  “Do we have firing solutions?”

  “Yes sir. All ships report they have a lock.”

  He looked at the clock. When the timer hit zero he issued the order.

  “All ships fire. I repeat fire.”

  In just a second a salvo of tungsten projectiles launched from all ten ships. They were mixed sizes but they all moved at considerable speeds. And they were all greater than the rounds that shuttered the corvette and the frigate in the first battle.

  At the same time the fleet fired the MAC guns the Intrepid fired as well.

  It fired thirty rounds one after another from the rear rail guns fifteen at each of the two chasing ships.

  The two corvettes registered the firing immediately and tried taking evasive action. But as they did each one was came in the path of the MAC rounds.

  Vosk watched as his ship came under fire. The rounds were small rail gun rounds. He knew that they would deplete his shields but they posed no danger to either of the corvettes.

  “Reinforce the forward shields and take evasive action. And fire back.”

  Each corvette fired its plasma cannons at the running ship. The first order they had was not to destroy the ship so they fired weaker beams targeting none essential systems.

  As they fired the Intrepid registered the incom
ing fire immediately and activated its shields.

  “Sir the scout ships has shields. They activated them immediately after we fired.

  Vosk watched with surprise as the shields shrugged away the plasma beams.”

  “Fire the guns at full power. We are done playing games.”

  The same thought came to the mind of Kerak but it was already too late.

  The MAC rounds moved at speeds ranging from150 to 258 km per second. They crossed the distance between the fleet and the corvettes in seconds. The sensors on both ships registered the moments before they impacted.

  The shields were hammered by the huge kinetic release each projectile delivered. When they hit the corvettes simply evaporated.

  “My lord the corvettes were destroyed.”

  Kerak watched the destruction of two of his ships at the same time. He felt his blood boil. He felt that he made a mistake launching just two ships. As he watched he noticed that Ahia’s group was closing in. They would be in firing range in three arns. The ten ships were going to reach the ship they were chasing in four arns. He knew that the corvettes were destroyed by kinetic projectiles. His fleet had those weapons too but they were mostly used for point defense although they could be used for targeting more distant targets. They moved at great speeds three times faster than the projectiles the humans fired but they were small rounds ranging from several kilograms to several hundred kilograms. Compared with the tonnage of each MAC round that greater speed meant nothing.

  As he watched it was obvious that Ahia didn’t need his order. All ships fired hundreds of kinetic rounds at the incoming ships. At the speed they were moving it would take some time to reach their targets.

  But just as he started to ease in his chair and relax to watch the outcome he got his second surprise.

  Jennings watched as the alien fleet closed in on the Intrepid. They were just seconds away from the small mine field the Intrepid laid behind it.

  “All ships prepare to engage.”

  He didn’t need to give the fire order or the order to activate the shields or polarize the hull plating. They all knew what to do. The ships sensors registered the incoming rounds from the enemy fleet as soon as they fired. The point defense reacted immediately, traced the incoming rounds and fired back. Somewhere out in the distance in several moments everyone knew that small rounds will meet moving at great speed. As they thought that they could notice bright explosions in the distance just beyond the Intrepid as the point defense projectiles found their targets. The Aegis system that in effect controlled the point defense system could easily track any incoming rounds and it fired thousands of rounds at the incoming projectiles. And it fired continuously preventing any incoming fire.