ARMADA

 

Ranul rushed into the lift heading for the bridge of the Vorn cruiser, Esyia. The Baruk were headed into the sector where the Vorn cruiser was patrolling. The sensor probes, which had been stationed along the way, were being destroyed systematically as the Baruk journeyed toward Castai-Rex. With at least fifty large warships, they were flaunting their power and moving quickly.

The level indicator increased in number as the lift carried Ranul toward the bridge where he could analyze the latest data. There were only two Vorn battle cruisers assigned to each sector from among the twenty-three that had been confiscated on Castai-Ori and left on Rex after the departure of the remaining Vorn military during the battle of Baeth Periege. The Onicule was traveling with them nearby.

All the Vorn battle cruisers were heavily armed and highly maneuverable. But with the greater number of Baruk vessels approaching, many of the people serving aboard the cruisers were expecting to fight a losing battle. Still, morale among the crews remained strong. If they were going to lose, then they would take as many of the Baruk with them as possible.

Suddenly the whole ship reeled. Ranul was tossed into the ceiling of the lift then down to the floor hard. The lights flickered then faded as low intensity emergency lighting came on. It felt like an impact to the ship’s hull, but he couldn’t tell. The lift continued its climb and soon arrived at the bridge.

When the doors opened up, Ranul could see the bridge crew locked into their chairs prepared for battle. On the display, they were tracking several objects heading in their direction. Estall was barking out orders to the crew from the command chair.

“Estall, what’s happening?”

“The Baruk have launched some sort of projectiles from outside the sector. The shields are having difficulty with them. They’re not strong enough to repel these things. Some sort of super dense alloy.”

“The shields would have to deconstruct and disperse the matter—very difficult with objects of the density you’re talking about.” Ranul jumped to a science station and began to look over the data. An alarm sounded on the bridge.

“Incoming!”

“It’s another one of those projectiles,” said Estall. “Ranul, what do you have!?”

“It’s some kind of tritarium variant—super density. In a normal molecular arrangement it would be one thousand times the current size.”

“Evasive!” Estall ordered.

“It’s tracking with us!” said one of the science officers.

“I’m having trouble with the helm, sir. It’s like we’re being pulled into it.”

“It’s exerting a localized gravitational pull on the ship—gets stronger as it approaches!” Ranul shouted from his station. “Wait, wait! It’s tracking on the Onicule now!”

“She’s going to take a hit!”

The projectile shifted the flight path of the Onicule as it approached, pulling the Vorn cruiser into its path at the last moment. The shields on the ship activated as the object passed into field, trying to vaporize it. The field sheered away half of the object’s mass, but the remainder passed through the shield, crashing into the hull of the Onicule.

“She’s hit!” Estall shouted.

“Analyzing,” said one of the science officers. “The Onicule took a hit just behind mid-ship, several decks destroyed, they’re sealing them off. It’s not a fatal blow.”

Ranul continued to monitor the ship. “Wait! Something is happening! That thing is like a gravity bomb,” he mumbled as he turned to Estall.

On the main view screen the Onicule was beginning to implode.

“Ranul, what’s happening to them?”

“The localized gravitational field around the object is pulling the ships structure inward upon it.”

They all watched helplessly as the Onicule caved in upon the gravity bomb. Gases escaped in flame.

“Sir, we’re being hailed by the other fleet ships,” said the communications officer. “They’re all on a rendezvous course to this sector.”

“Estall, the Baruk formation of ships is entering the sector now,” Ranul said. “They’re splitting up, spreading out against us. Another gravity bomb is locked on approach!”

“Evasive maneuvers!” Estall demanded.

“I’m trying to recalibrate our shields to repel the object rather than vaporize it,” said Ranul.

“Twenty seconds to impact!” shouted another science officer.

“Hurry, Ranul,” Estall said as he watched the incoming object on the view screen.

“I think I’ve got it.”

The gravity bomb slammed into the shields of the Esyia and sent the ship reeling off of its flight path. The bridge crew would have been tossed about the chamber had they not been strapped into their flight chairs.

“How bad are we?” Estall asked over the groaning of the engines.

“The object did not penetrate!” shouted Ranul. “It pushed us away though. The impact still damaged our hull by causing a reverberation in the shield.”

“How bad are we?”

“The hull is intact.”

“Are the Baruk within range yet?”

“Just now,” said the weapons officer.

“Lock and fire the molecular dispersion cannon on the nearest ship.”

The large weapon swiveled upon its mount located on the topside of the Esyia, aiming off into the black of space toward the Baruk, still out of visual range. The weapons officer locked onto the nearest Baruk warship and fired. The beam from the Castillian and Vorn engineered weapon flashed out into the darkness.

 

☼

 

The Baruk warship, Kosinok, veered away from the formation of cruisers toward its designated heading. A beam of energy flashed ahead then hit the ship, strafing across its hull surface, vaporizing everything it touched.

“Direct hit!” shouted the weapons officer.

“They’re raising their shields!” said Ranul from his station.

“Fire again,” Estall commanded.

Once again, the weapon adjusted slightly to reacquire the same target on its trajectory. Once locked, it fired again into the blackness of space. The beam hit the Kosinok square on, but its shields responded in kind.

“Their shields are drained significantly, but it didn’t go through,” said Ranul.

“The rest of the fleet is heading for the Baruk formation,” said the other science officer.

“Take us in with them, shields at full power, all weapons systems at the ready. Garret, fire at will as we come into range,” Estall said.

 

☼

 

Tiet sat uneasily on the exam table in the med-lab. His arm was throbbing terribly now, but his conscience hurt more. He had wanted so badly to drive the blade through Kale and avenge his family, but it wasn’t what he had expected. Seeing his brother standing there in the cell just waiting to receive his fury had been very unsettling.

Tiet had expected a fight—he had wanted a fight. After attacking Kale mentally and seeing him writhe in pain—he had felt pity for him for a moment.

Wynn had stopped him from killing his own brother. At the time he would have struck his mentor for interfering, had he been able, but now he knew he would have regretted that as well. Wynn was no fool and he had no reason to protect Kale. There had to be a good reason for him to step between them to save his life.

The med-lab door opened, allowing Mirah K’ore to enter. “So, the King has returned.”

“Hello, Mirah.”

“That’s Dr. K’ore to you.” She grinned. “Father said you were going to accept the Council’s nomination to the throne…I haven’t seen you lately.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I understand. But don’t think that gives you an excuse in the future.” She feigned a stern look then smiled. “Now let’s see that arm.”

Tiet raised the arm for her inspection. The sleeve was already cut away up to his shoulder. The med-tech had managed to get that far before the message had come through on Tiet’s com-link that Kale was a prisoner. His arm was severely bruised and swollen, but there was no bone penetration through the skin.

Mirah picked up a hand held scanner and passed it over his arm. “Well, it looks like a clean break, ulna and radius. I won’t ask how you managed this.”

“How long to put me back in action, Mirah?”

“About two hours of osteoblast therapy and another half hour to bring down the edema.”

“Let’s do it then.”

 

☼

 

“Our ships are really taking a pounding up there commander,” said Lieutenant Davers. “They’re outnumbered two to one. They’ve been using the new dispersion cannons, but the Baruk shields are too strong.”

“What’s the current shield status for our ships?” Wynn asked.

“Ten ships below seventy percent shield power, eight below fifty percent power, two are under twenty percent power and three have already been destroyed.”

“What about the Esyia?”

“She’s approaching thirty percent power and still taking a pounding, sir.”

Wynn continued to sort through the incoming images on the war room displays. The armada was really getting beaten to death up there. They were tough ships, but the odds were against them. If they failed to stop the Baruk in space then the fight would hit the ground.

“Sir, another of our ships has been destroyed, the Kyrysk,” said Davers.

The other four soldiers manning the war room monitors paused briefly to look up at Wynn then continued with their work.

“What about the Baruk fleet?” Wynn asked. “What kind of damage are they taking?”

“They’re going blow for blow, but our ships are grossly outnumbered,” said Davers.

“By the time our ships do any significant damage, their shields will be down and it will be over very quickly. Have we notified Tiet yet?”

“He’s in the med-lab—the alarms don’t sound in there.”

“Put me through.”

“Online, sir.”

“Dr. K’ore. May I help you?”

“Mirah, Wynn Gareth here. I need to speak with Tiet immediately.”

“My patient is still receiving treatment under sedation,” Mirah said.

“I need you to wake him up. We’ve got a situation—he’s needed.”

“What he needs is to get this treatment completed without duress, Commander.”

“Doctor, our fleet is getting burned out of the sky. The Baruk will begin a ground assault as soon as they get the chance. Please, we need him on his feet now.”

“I’ll do the best I can, Mirah out.”

The communication link terminated at that point. “I’d better make sure of it,” Wynn said. “Davers, what’s the status of our troops?”

“All division commanders report ready and awaiting deployment instructions.”

“Tell them to hold positions. The King will instruct them personally,” Wynn said as he headed out the door.

 

☼

 

Mirah returned to the control panel, monitoring Tiet’s treatment. He was coming out of his sedation as the procedure finished up. Everything was precisely computer controlled. She walked into the treatment room as he became conscious.

“How are you feeling?”

“A little groggy, but I feel all right. My arm feels a lot better—just a little sore now.”

“Well, that will pass soon enough. You’ve got plenty of pain meds onboard.”

“I appreciate the fix up.”

“You don’t have to be so formal.”

“I know. There’s just been so much happening recently, Mirah.”

“Well, the arm looks fine.”

“Thank you, Mirah,” he said. Tiet flexed the arm, trying out the repair. “You do wonderful work.”

“Tiet, I uh—” She started to speak as the door to the med-lab opened, letting Wynn inside.

“I see you’re on your feet again,” he said.

Mirah and Tiet dropped their gazes to the ground then looked at Wynn.

“Tiet, I’ve got to get you to the main deployment area. The Baruk are hammering our ships, and we’ll probably be looking at a ground assault somewhere very soon.”

“I’m ready, let’s go,” he said, as he gathered the upper body portion of his uniform from the counter nearby. They both headed out the main door as he called back.

“Thanks again, Mirah. We’ll talk soon,” he said. The door closed behind them.

“I hope so,” she whispered to the empty exam room.

 

☼

 

Wynn and Tiet walked quickly to the nearest lift. “I want to apologize for the situation with Kale,” Wynn said.

“Don’t worry about it. You did what was right. It’s just that…he betrayed everything we knew, and yet he’s my brother.”

“I know.”

The lift opened, allowing them in. “Main deployment area,” Wynn said.

The computer complied with his request.

“You could have killed him and he wouldn’t have made any effort to stop you. I think he even longed for you to do it, to end his pain and guilt.”

“Why should I care about his pain? He betrayed us—all of us—including you, Wynn.”

“That’s right. And I am still asking you to consider the situation with your brother, despite that fact.”

Tiet glared at him then looked back at the city without saying anything.

“Have you considered that Kale didn’t need my help to save himself from your sword?”

“Do you think he’s that powerful?” Tiet asked.

“If I’m any judge about these things, I would say he’s very powerful.”

“I don’t want to hate him, Wynn. I just don’t know how to handle this right now…”

The lift slowed as they entered the deployment area and its control tower.

“Right now, we have a war to deal with,” Tiet said. “Everything else will have to wait.”