Sleeping in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 1)

by D Patrick Wagner

  Leaning forward and resting on his arms, the governor focused on the commander. “And what could this historic something be?”

  “We are being invaded,” Toma blurted. “An armada of thousands of ships is pouring through the dead end gate. And it is heading here.”

  “Are they friendly?”

  “No, Your Highness. I don’t believe so. The first thing they did was destroy our patrol ship.”

  “Who are they?”

  “We don’t know. We think that they might be alien, a first contact with an alien species.”

  “Have we tried to contact them?”

  “Being a diplomatic responsibility, that is why I’ve contacted you.”

  “I see. I’ll stay connected. Contact them and link me in. let’s establish a dialogue, if that is even possible. Let’s see if we can avoid more bloodshed.”

  “Yes Your Highness.” Commander gave his superior a head bow and turned to his communications officer.

  “Mr. Kassis, on a full band spectrum please attempt to open a channel.”

  “Aye, Aye, Sir.”

  “And, when you make contact, make sure that everything is being recorded at all levels.”

  The communications officer proceeded to attempt the communications. After a short time, an answering link opened. A second window appeared on both the Commander’s and the Governor’s view screens.

  They saw an upright creature, covered in prickly fuzz. Red wings spread up and out. Two appendages ended in claws, including apposing thumbs. If anyone knew about the rare animals of earth, they would have thought that they were looking at the head of a giant, South American anteater. With wings. Periodically a round, pink tongue would protrude, flick and withdraw.

  “Welcome,” began the Governor.

  Clicks, chattering and chirping came from whatever was viewed on the screen. Then the creature stopped and posed, studying its own screen, its own view of the two humans.

  “We welcome you in peace,” a visibly shaken governor stammered out.

  The creature continued to stare. Then the screens went blank.

  “Did you record that, Mr. Kassis?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “What ship is at the Dorogon gate?”

  “Attestant of light. Captained by Captain Salib.”

  “Send everything we have, all the telemetry, visuals and recordings, everything to him. And keep sending everything. I want everything we’ve got on that ship. Understood?”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  “Mr. Ashid, work closely with Mr. Kassis. Make sure there is a continuous flow of information from all sensors, constantly relayed to that patrol ship. Keep verifying with Captain Salib that everything is being received.”

  “Aye, Aye, Commander.”

  “The both of you, make sure everything goes. That is your number one priority.”

  The Governor waited, nervous and fidgety. After the commander’s orders were issued, he turned back to the Governor.

  “Your Highness. I think we should begin to immediately get everyone to safety. We should send out a general alarm to the populous to find shelter, begin storing rations. We don’t know what these aliens intend, but I see nothing but hostility.”

  “I agree, Commander. I’ll get my people right on it. Two hours isn’t much time. But, Insha’Allah, we will do what we can do. Ma Salama, Commander.”

  “Ma Salama, Your Highness.”

  Aboard Ravage Maker

  Aboard his flagship, War, Flight and Logistics sat at the conference table, staring at the now blank monitor.

  “That was interesting,” he commented.

  “I wonder what the soft skin was trying to say,” responded Logistics.

  “Doesn’t matter,” answered War. “Did we get the location of the grunter?”

  “Yes we did,” replied Logistics. Pressing on his control board, he succeeded in displaying the part of the target world that held their interest.

  “The primary signal came from a fortification on the plains, isolated from the rest of the inhabitants. The secondary signal came from a large structure in the center of the largest habitation on the planet. The grunter’s signal originated from there.”

  Logistics used his controller to encircle each of the areas in question.

  “What does our intel say about these two sites?” questioned Lord Minister.

  “Let me get Intelligence in here. He is more qualified to answer that question.”

  With that comment, Logistics activated his personal communicator and signalled Intelligence. Minutes later the councilor arrived, paused at War’s office door and bowed.

  “Enter.”

  Intelligence followed his superior’s command and entered.

  “Sit. Tell me about the largest habitation and the isolated fortification.” Lord Minister gestured at the view screen that held the images in question.

  Taking the indicated seat, Intelligence began. “From our observation drones, it is believed that the large habitation is the central control for the planet. We’ve observed a higher degree of communications there than anywhere else in the system. Also, transportation to and from the primary landing port is higher than anywhere else in the system. Trying to surmise what constitutes wealth for these soft skins, this entire area appears to be extremely affluent. Our conclusion is that this area is either the seat of their government, the center of finance or both.”

  War nodded throughout the monologue. “And this one?” he pointed to the isolated habitat.

  “This one is military in nature. It is well fortified with walls and weapons towers. There are large grounds covered with land vehicles and small atmospheric craft. They all appear armed. There appear to be large buildings housing many soft skins. It’s been observed that they all wear the same garments, a uniform. The main building in the center appears to be a control center. It has multiple protuberances thought to be communication projectors. The size and activity lead to the conclusion that this is a military base or even the planet’s military headquarters.”

  “How positive are you about your conclusions?”

  “Based upon everything we’ve observed over the last three months, I am very sure.” Intelligence’s wings expanded and rose, adding credence to his belief.

  “Then, those are the two positions that we target first!” War finalized the decree by pounding his clenched fist onto the table.

  “Intelligence, we want the government center in tact. No unnecessary killing. No feeding. Use stunners only. Save as much of the structure as possible.”

  Nodding his head, Intelligence responded, “Yes, My Lord. I will apprise First Assaulter of your wishes. His warriors will not be happy. But they will do as they are told.”

  “The stronghold is another matter. I want it completely destroyed, every living thing dead. And feast. It is First Assaulter’s to do as he wishes. I want these soft skins to know the power of Mortek. I want them to know true defeat.”

  “At your command, My Lord. They will learn the uselessness of defying the inevitable. We will achieve a glorious victory for you and all our people.”

  “Logistics.”

  “My Lord?”

  “The moment First Assaulter has achieved domination I want processors landed at those two targets. Process one eighth of the population in the government center and everything in the military base. And I want it done with all due haste. We must set an example of our power and we must begin the replenishment of our food stuffs for our colony and the colony ships.”

  “The processors are already prepared for launching and landing. The moment that First Assaulter lands we will load our food handlers. When First Assaulter announces victory we will launch. Processing will begin immediately.”

  “Flight, Logistics, Intelligence, Make it happen. Our people are depending on you.”

  Sasania Royal Compound

  All of the people within the Governmental House rushed around, frantically trying to fulfill Governor Ardishar’s orders. They
stuffed wads of documents into burn bags, loaded removable disk drives and shoved them into the supplied transport crates. All ended up piled onto robotic carts, ready for destruction. Per the governor’s orders, they then scattered, seeking shelter and safety wherever they could. Top level administration personnel received orders to take safety in the bunker and command center buried deep underground. All except Governor Ardishar. He fled to his family’s estates.

  Immediately upon his personal transport setting down on the private landing pad, he threw open the door, dashed into the royal palace entryway and immediately flagged down the head butler.

  “Find my father. Have him come to the study. And get my mother, brother and sisters ready for travel. It’s an emergency. Hurry!”

  After that issuance, Al-Amin Ardishar, Governor of Sasania, eldest son of the Sultan of Sasania, rushed to the study and found the bar. Against all of his religious customs, he poured himself a double scotch into a handcrafted crystal rocks glass. After gulping it down he poured another, sighed and tried to compose himself for the coming audience with his father, the Sultan.

  Sultan El-Hashim Ardishar imperiously strode into the study, followed by his personal assistant and bodyguard. Eying his son, “I see, again, you break the laws of Allah.”

  “That’s not important,” Al-Amin responded but set down his glass. “We need to leave. We need to get the family to safety.”

  “Why would we do that?” the Sultan asked as he settled into one of the study’s reading chairs and adjust his robes.

  “We’re being invaded. A large fleet of ships have come through the gate, destroyed one of our patrol ships and is heading here.”

  “What? That joke of an admiral has sent his son to make us toe the line? Grovel under his boot?”

  “Not them. Someone else. Something else. The ships came through the empty gate. Ships we’ve never seen before. Alien ships.”

  “We are being attacked by aliens,” the Sultan scoffed.

  “Yes!” Al-Amin almost shouted. “Check with somebody, I don’t know, your security chief, your communications chief.”

  Sultan Ardishar turned to his personal attendant and nodded. The man hurried out.

  “We’re wasting time, Father. We need to be gone in two hours.”

  “Nonsense. Aliens attacking,” he harrumphed. “This is our home. It’s been our home for three hundred years. We’ve had three hundred years to make it impregnable, safe. It is well fortified. We have the royal guard, the best fighters on the planet. We’re not leaving.”

  “But, Father,”

  “No, son. We’re not leaving. Even if what you say is true, our people need us. We, you need to show leadership, guidance. You need to be the prince that you have been raised to be.”

  As the Sultan finished, his wife marched in. “What is this about having to leave?”

  “Nothing. Our son says that we are being invaded by aliens and that we should flee. We’re not. We’re staying.”

  Walking over to her son, she cupped one cheek and kissed him on the other. Turning to her husband, she asked, “Then everything is fine?”

  Just then, the Sultan’s attendant returned. “Your Highness,” he began with a bow. “What your son said is true. A large fleet of ships has come through the empty gate. The ships are strange. No one knows who they are.”

  “Yes, My Wife. Everything will be fine. But you do need to get the children ready and move them to the shelter. Take your hand maiden and a chef. I’ll take care of things up here and then join you.”

  “But, Father, the ships. They will attack!”

  “If it is the will of Allah, then so be it. What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll return to the Capitol and continue to prepare for what is to come.”

  “Allah yusallmak, my son.

  Al-Amin Ardishar, son of Sultan El-Hashim Ardishar, crown prince, successor to the throne of Sasania lied. He had no intention of returning to the Capitol. He headed to the royal landing pads, commandeered the royal yacht and, with his own personal retinue, launched into space, fleeing towards the Dorogon gate.

  Sasania Space Fleet Headquarters

  Commander Toma apprehensively stood over his sensor officer and intently stared at the screen. He and Lieutenant Ashid fearfully watched the deluge of unknown ships threatening to flood the Yeni Persia system and engulf his planet, Sasania.

  Turning to his communications officer, he commanded, “Status, Lieutenant Kassis.”

  “The small attack ships have destroyed our planetary patrol ship. Now they are standing off, waiting. A larger force, about one thousand ships are currently entering orbit. The sixty-four that broke off towards the Dorogon gate are still more than an hour from intercept with our third patrol.”

  “That’s it. We’ve been recording everything continuously?”

  “Yes, Commander. On all video, communication and energy wave spectrums.”

  “Make sure Attestant of light has everything and have Captain Salib get to Nye-Nippon. We need to insure that the rest of humanity knows what is happening here.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir.”

  “And keep recording. Keep sending everything to all of our communications buoys. Sit one on the moon and shut everything down except receiving. Also set it to respond to a Federacy activation signal.”

  “Sir,” responded Lieutenant Kassis.

  “Commander Toma turned back to the sensor screen, worrying about what was coming. Lieutenant Kassis insured that the latest data had been transferred to the last living patrol ship and passed on the command to flee.

  Six minutes later Attestant of light pushed all engines to full power and rocketed to and into the Dorogon gate. Shortly after its disappearance, the Mortek attack ships arrived and took up station, waiting for a defensive force to arrive.

  Mortek War Fleet

  “War, the attack ships have cordoned off the planet and the Death Launcher is in place, ready to release the assault craft,” Flight Counsellor reported. “First Fleet’s attack craft are orbiting the soft skin’s world, in support of the invasion.

  “The gates?”

  “First Fleet’s dreadnaught, Star Killer, with its escorts, is protecting our entrance gate. Attack ships have blockaded the second gate. The dreadnaught, Destroyer of Worlds, with its task force is in route, due to arrive within a cycle.”

  “The other four fleets?”

  “In standby, awaiting orders.”

  “Well done, Flight. First Assaulter, are you ready?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Proceed. You now have command.”

  “Thank you, My Lord.” Activating his personal communicator, First Assaulter Commanded, “Death Launcher, attack!”

  Sasania Capitol

  The inhabitants of Sasania’s capitol scurried around, attempting to fulfil the governmental mandate to find shelter and safety. From what? They didn’t know. Men, women and children all fled to the perceived safety of their homes or workplace or general gathering areas. They anxiously watched and listened to the live news vids, attempting to understand the situation. None were prepared for what happened next.

  A huge space vehicle thundered through the air, decelerated at an unimaginable rate and ended its flight by dropping on the parade grounds of the Capitol building. Onlookers peered through windows and doors, spoke in hushed tones and pointed at the strange-looking ship. Suddenly three ramps – back and both sides, dropped and armed monsters stormed out. Everyone screamed and scattered, fleeing in fear and for their lives.

  Hundreds of four-legged, two-armed nightmares scrambled from the ship. All wore armour. All carried strange rifle-like weapons. Once a parameter became established, un-armoured flying creatures wearing helmets and holding boxes with strange protrusions shot up through the open hatch in the spacecraft’s roof. The flyers, staying out of range of ground fire, swept over the capitol building and grounds, periodically hovering, pointing and communicating with the ground forces.

  Captain
Naifeh, of the Capitol Police Force, stood in the center of the governor’s mansion and rotated in circles. As he rotated, he’d point to a group of officers, shout commands and direct them to areas to be defended and fortified. The police force grabbed whatever weapons they could and followed their orders. They barely achieved their positions when the large double doors blew off their hinges and exploded into the room, wounding many, killing others. The captain died in the initial blast.

  The alien troopers stormed into the building, weapons raised and firing. The defenders fell in droves, quivering and shaking, eyes rolling to white, drool spilling from their mouths. What little weapons fire they were able to return had no effect on the attackers. The laser and energy weapons simply dispersed, causing no damage. Nothing stopped the onslaught.

  A hundred more warriors poured into the building, scurried up the stairs, searched every room. All personnel ended up experiencing the same seizures as those that attempted to blunt the alien attack.

  The same scene played out all over the city. Assault craft landed and alien troopers stormed out. Alien flyers took to the skies. The Capitol Police presented token defense and fell into shaking, drooling seizures. The populous ran in panic, with no where to run. Monstrous, four-legged ground troops cleared the streets and broke into structures, searching for all who avoided the initial onslaught. Flyers scanned everywhere, locating hidden pockets of people and pointing them out to the grounders. The alien horde systematically tazed everyone found. Processor ships dropped from the skies and smashed onto the planet. The decimating harvest began.

  Sasania Space Fleet Headquarters

  Assault craft landed, bracketing the military compound. Alien troops swarmed from their ships, set up defensive positions and began unloading heavy weapons. Flyers launched, landed and waited.

  Attack ships rocketed from space and screamed into Sasania’s atmosphere, smashing the sound barrier and generating sonic booms heard for miles. Vectoring the Space Force Headquarters, they locked targets and fired. Rockets dropped, accelerated and struck. Their targets exploded in spectacular displays of fire, gasses and structural components. Personnel became dismembered bodies, parts tossed in all directions.