Equilibrium of Terror: Part 2

by Eddie R. Hicks

  ESV Wilfrid Laurier, Titan Orbit, Sol System

  Chevallier’s composure remained unchanged as she saw the Scathing Hand quickly park itself fifty kilometers in front of the Wilfrid Laurier via the central hologram and forward windows.

  “It’s right in our grill ma’am,” Ensign Mikhailov said.

  Her XO, Commander Omar Patel stood next to her, watching how close the two ships got, and the size of the blast radius if they fired nukes. “If we fire now . . .”

  “Full power to forward shields,” Chevallier said. “Fire at will with conventional weapons. Helm do not wait for my order, if you see a clearing make a break for it.” She looked at the hologram as it showed the Winston Churchill move in the opposite direction to the Wilfrid Laurier and Scathing Hand as they dueled and exchanged plasma missiles and rail gun slugs with plasma cannon bursts.

  It was a race to see who could lower the other side’s shields first. A race the Scathing Hand intended to win as it moved and pivoted itself to prevent the Wilfrid Laurier from moving forward. Backtracking was its only option. Chevallier was impressed at how much more maneuverable Hashmedai ships were compared to UNE ones. Command would need to rethink the designs for future ships.

  ESV Winston Churchill, Titan orbit, Sol System

  “Keep moving Mr. Chavez,” Xavier said as the rings of Saturn came into view from the windows. Later he tapped a button on his console and opened up a communication link to Chief Engineer Shanuka Weerasinghe. “Engine room what’s your status?”

  “Reactor working in overdrive and I got damage reports coming in from all over the ship,” Weerasinghe’s voice said through the speaker.

  Xavier lifted his eyes up to the damaged, intermittent, hologram. The Night Hunter was gaining speed. Its red dot representation inched closer to the blue dot of the Winston Churchill. “They’ll catch up at this rate, need more speed,” he said to Weerasinghe.

  “And shields,” Benally said. “Three or four direct hits in our state and we’ll lose half the ship.”

  “EVE!” Xavier yelled to their AI. “I need more power to the engines and aft shields. Keep the nuclear warhead launchers active. That’s all I give a damn ‘bout now.”

  “I will have to sacrifice life-support in certain areas of the ship for that,” EVE said.

  “Do it, evacuate all personnel in those areas at once!”

  EVE went into what seemed like a trance while her processors began to take control of more of the Winston Churchill’s power functions. Seconds later, the central holographic projection provided an update for Xavier to read. Aft shields rose to three percent. Better than nothing.

  “Helm?”

  Chavez smiled while his hands continued to pilot the ship. “Thirty-four percent increase to speed, Captain.”

  “In two thousand kilometers bring us around to face the destroyer harassing the Wilfrid Laurier.”

  With its newfound speed the Winston Churchill moved further way and built a wider gap, one that allowed them to deliver their payload of nuclear missiles and stay clear of the blast zone. Naturally the Night Hunter had other plans and it discharged four large balls of plasma from its forward cannons.

  “Evasive action!” Xavier said upon learning of the new incoming threat.

  It was a long shot given the new distance between the two, it would take time for the plasma to catch up and hit the Winston Churchill. The calculations needed to avoid being hit were transmitted to Chavez’ terminal courtesy of EVE. The timing, the pitch, speed, estimate trajectory of the plasma. Everything he would need was there he just needed to do it, to make it happen.

  Chavez’ handiwork, combined with EVE’s calculation caused the Winston Churchill to turn away from the attack, three of the plasma balls missed, one however scraped the side of the aft shields. “Almost there, Captain!” Chavez reported.

  Xavier double-checked the updated reports from the hologram in regard to the estimated blast radius should they fire nuclear weapons at the Scathing Hand. The Winston Churchill was seconds from entering the clear and safe area. Both the Wilfrid Laurier and Scathing Hand naturally wouldn’t be. The nuke would need to explode at a distance in space where the shockwave would do major damage to the Scathing Hand while not bringing harm to the Wilfrid Laurier. They were two minutes away from being within the perfect range to do that.

  Then one minute.

  Twenty seconds.

  Five seconds.

  “Now, Mr. Chavez!”

  The Winston Churchill made a sudden and sharp wide one-eighty turn, placing their line of sight directly toward the Scathing Hand. The Night Hunter adjusted its trajectory, took aim once again at the Winston Churchill and started the process of charging its plasma cannons.

  “Target that destroyer, and inform the Wilfrid Laurier to hang on tight.”

  ESV Wilfrid Laurier, Titan orbit, Sol System

  “Captain it’s the Winston Churchill,” Lieutenant McKay announced from her communication station. “They’re going to nuke the destroyer in front of us!”

  Patel grimaced and asked. “Is he mad?”

  “No, he is clever, and so are we,” Chevallier said. “Put everything we got into shields,” she then said via a shipwide broadcast, “All hands, brace for impact.”

  The Wilfrid Laurier’s current position may not have been the exact battle plan but it ended up working in their favor. By remaining in their spot they served as bait that held the Scathing Hand in place as the Winston Churchill unloaded its sucker punch from behind. If things worked out in their favor, both the Scathing Hand and Night Hunter would have minimal shields, leaving the Wilfrid Laurier the sole ship in the battle with maximum survivability.

  Assuming the Winston Churchill detonates the nuke at the right time. If they allow it to get too close, then both Wilfrid Laurier’s shields and Scathing Hand’s would take a pounding. UNE ships may have had stronger shields than Hashmedai, but one nuke at ground zero plus follow up plasma cannon blasts would end them, relatively quickly.

  Scathing Hand, Titan orbit, Sol System

  “That human ship is still intact . . . why?” T’esih asked as she pushed away a holographic display.

  “The Night Hunter is reacquiring weapons lock,” Martop said.

  “And the human ship is locking onto us!”

  ESV Winston Churchill, Titan orbit, Sol System

  “Ready, Captain,” Matsushita said.

  Xavier’s right fist clenched together in a ball. “ . . . Fire!”

  A team of armory crewmen worked in the dark as they quickly saw to it that one nuclear missile was loaded into the launch tubes and sent away with a tactical drone. It ejected from the firing port into space. The drone next to it provided a strong shield to prevent it from being targeted and destroyed before it got to its destination. Battle data relayed back and forth to the bridge of the Winston Churchill, the data updated the central hologram of the current course of the warhead as it hurtled toward the Scathing Hand. When the time was right, a detonation signal was sent from the Winston Churchill. It traveled at the speed of light toward the drone, then the drone relayed that same message to the complex computers inside the warhead to explode right away.

  Everyone aboard the bridge shielded their eyes as the bringer of light arrived. The catastrophic multimegaton explosion sent a brilliant and colorful shockwave that erupted in all directions taking on a sphere form that grew larger with each passing millisecond. The blast impacted and wreaked havoc against the shields of the Scathing Hand, mainly it’s aft, port, and starboard. The Wilfrid Laurier was hit by the tail end of the blast, as a result of that and the ship taking cover behind the Scathing Hand, the Wilfrid Laurier shields only dropped to thirty-nine percent.

  The Scathing Hand’s shields were down to two percent, while the Night Hunter still maintained its twelve percent. Even if the Winston Churchill were to fall now, the Wilfrid Laurier had more than enough in them to finish the fight and claim victory in the name of the UNE.

  As th
e light from the nuclear explosion dimmed, Xavier grinned and removed his hands away from his face. “Your move,” he said.

  Scathing Hand, Titan orbit, Sol System

  “Report!” T’esih demanded!

  Delin checked his holographic displays. “Shields are gone and we are venting atmosphere in the rear compartments!”

  “Radiation levels are climbing outside,” another officer said.

  Martop completed his ESP scans and provided his report. “The human ship in front of us has taken damage as well. We could end them in a few more hits.”

  “They still have shields, we barely have any.”

  T’esih assessed the situation as new options were brought to her attention. Destroying the Winston Churchill would enrage the Wilfrid Laurier and might force them to finish them and the Night Hunter off. The Night Hunter had minimal shields and a follow up atomic missile from the Winston Churchill could put them both down if they got too close. Escape was the only option. She came here to prove herself, not commit suicide.

  T’esih chose her option. “Regroup with the Shade Flare behind Rhea and have the Night Hunter cover our retreat . . .”

  “Captain—”

  “Both of those human ships are going to need repairs before they leave the sector, and none of them have psionics. They can’t detect us as long as we remain behind a moon.”

  As ordered, the Scathing Hand directed all power to its engines, causing it to turn and break away. Night Hunter quickly moved in closer and positioning itself to take the brunt of the Wilfrid Laurier’s assault with what little shields it had left. Surprise fire in the form of plasma came toward the Winston Churchill from the fleeing Hashmedai destroyers, a warning, stay away as the Scathing Hand entered sub light speed then later the Night Hunter behind it.

  “Two ships . . .” said Delin. “I recommend we withdraw our interceptors as well.”

  T’esih’s punched the arm of her captain’s chair. The interceptors were supposed to carry out their conquest of Titan’s surface. But they too needed to pull back. She didn’t want to do it, but it was necessary, they were going to need all the support they could get while they made repairs.

  “Bring them back,” T’esih said reluctantly. “Any word from our warriors on the surface?”

  “They were engaged with humans inside a base, that’s the last we heard of them.”

  “They are fine warriors, they will prevail.”

  The Scathing Hand and Night Hunter exited their sub light escape and took refuge behind the moon of Rhea alongside the Hashmedai carrier Shade Flare. Light from the sun was blocked out thanks to the moon, and with that came a block of all sensor scans from the two human ships. They’d probably figure out in few minutes that they moved behind the moon, and when they come to search they’d be long gone. Saturn like most gas giants was littered with moons, which were going to keep them undetected until the time to strike was right.

  “Make repairs, let the shields regenerate,” T’esih said, undoing her seat belt. “I want ESP sweeps of the sector; I want to know exactly where those human attack ships are. They are not to leave the sector intact, do I make myself clear?”

  Gladius squadron, Titan, Sol System

  Lines of smoke littered the aerial battle field in the yellow hazy skies of Titan as Solaris fighters from Hyperion squadron under protection from Gladius squadron maintained their decisive waltz. Aura pulled the nose of her craft down toward the surface and observed the damage done to the city and it’s outskirts below. Fires burned uncontrollably, fueled by the oxygen inside the buildings and the methane from Titan’s atmosphere.

  A group of Hashmedai interceptors swooping down to make another plasma strike against her team, were her targets. A risky task for the lightly shielded Hyperion Solaris fighters, an easy task for her craft and its stronger shields. Her HUD reported a target lock on the lead attacking interceptor. Suddenly, the interceptor changed course, and ignited a full thrust burn from its rear engines. It shot back up into space alongside the rest of the attacking interceptor forces.

  “They’re breaking off!” Aura said, almost in a cheer.

  “That nuke must have put the fear of god in them,” Orbital said over the radio.

  “Only they don’t practice religious worship.”

  “Whatever, you know what I mean!”

  “Let’s secure the air space, make sure none of them got left behind,” Red Lotus of Hyperion squadron said. “Afterward, protect those evacuation transports.”

  Aura repositioned her fighter to see the small fleet of evacuation transports slowly fleeing the city, while several others took off from the surface below to join them. “Aura . . .” Red Lotus transmitted.

  “Don’t mention it,” Aura said. “We’re all in this together.”

  After many flybys and much circling, it was confirmed the airspace was free of all Hashmedai influence. Only the UNE fighters and the evacuation transports remained high in the skies casting small shadows on the land below.

  One problem taken care off. Now for the next.

  Aura opened up a communication link to Chris Boyd. “Gladius lead to EDF lead, you all still with us?”

  “This place is like a night club,” Chris transmitted back to her. “Got some loud motherfuckers inside and a line up outside waiting to come in.”

  She chuckled at his comment, and humors cry for help. “Sounds like you need some bouncers,” she said, then cut the link and said to her team. “Gladius form up with me.” She then transmitted to Hyperion’s lead fighter, “Red Lotus?”

  “We’ll be fine here,” Red Lotus said.

  The remaining ten fighters of Gladius entered a delta flying formation with Aura’s fighter leading the charge. Their engines burned brightly as they propelled out of sight from the skies above the city and accelerated toward mountains in the north, the location of the UNE black site.

  UNE Black Site, Titan, Sol System

  Blood and spent bullets turned the once pristine lobby of the Black Site into a noisy and messy scene. Chris and several members of the site’s staff held back a new wave of Hashmedai warriors and guardians. Overturned desks and pillars were their only source of cover from the tractor beams of the guardian’s plasma swords. Neither side was making major progress which made Chris wondered if Sarah did the right thing by entering that psionic creation pod, thing, whatever the fuck they called it.

  Having her at his side during this confrontation would have been beneficial. And it would have given Avearan, who still possessed Ella’s body, incentive to stay back. Ella was the first human ever to show signs of psionic activity, and might become the first one to be killed in combat. Chris felt someone tap him on his shoulder as he lowered himself behind the desk he was using as cover to avoid tractor beam pull from a nearby guardian.

  Turning around, he saw the person in question trying to get his attention. “Michei?”

  “I’ll support you with barriers,” the visibly exhausted Rabuabin psionic said. “That’s all I can muster without overworking my brain.”

  A purple aura surrounded Chris and several other black site staff members. A protective psionic shield created by Michei. Chris was glad, it was less work his shields needed to do. His arms and rifle however weren’t protected, which was understandable, it allowed him to fire without the need for Michei to constantly iris the barrier so that his bullets didn’t hit the inside of the shield.

  Chris primed and tossed a plasma grenade into the cluster of Hashmedai. He waited to hear them run and sprint away from the explosive device. Once he heard it he rose and lifted his rifle to spray high velocity bullets, hoping to take out any Hashmedai that were too busy focused on avoiding the grenade rather than staying in cover behind their guardians.

  Two fell over dead, their blood and brain chunks splattering across the floor. The grenade exploded seconds later and sent an emerald green burst of heated plasma away along with the legs of four Hashmedai that didn’t run away fast enough, including a guard
ian.

  The plasma rifles and great swords of the downed Hashmedai began to rise almost as if invisible hands held onto them. The balcony up above the battle revealed why. Ella’s psionic mind with Avearan at the wheel. Four plasma blades hovered for several seconds then began the elegant task of dismembering the remaining enemy combatants one by one. Chris and the rest held their fire. Avearan was a one-woman army, capable of wielding any weapon. She first came into the fray with rifles orbiting her and shooting at their invaders, now plasma blades.

  A guardian attempted to draw her closer to him with his tractor beam. She merely forced a great sword into the path of the beam, forcing it to be drawn in instead, with the edge of the blade aimed toward the guardian. It happened so fast, he didn’t have time to cancel the pull. The blade impaled him instantly while her telekinetic powers prevented his arm from moving his arm mounted shield closer to protect him.

  “She’s something else . . .” Chris said to Michei.

  Michei’s tail stood erect with fear. “I’m impressed she can wield that kind of power without implants,” he said. “Trained psionic possessing her body or not, she shouldn’t be able to do that.”

  The body of the last Hashmedai fell, his head rolling in away in the other direction. Chris let loose a wild smirk. Guess we didn’t need air support after all, he thought.

  Blue light flashed. A Hashmedai psionic teleported in with backup.

  Chris thought wrong.

  “And . . . we’re fucked,” he said as he instructed everyone to keep moving, it was the only means of countering being ripped apart by telekinesis.

  Neither bullets from Chris and the site staff, or Avearan and her arcane powers were enough to take down the psionic barrier protecting the Hashmedai psionic. White fireballs from the psionic left its arms and exploded against the walls and the floors where they hit. A tactical retreat was the only option and everyone including Avearan slowly moved back toward the elevator while Michei’s barriers kept them safe from the white flames.