Planet Genocide I (Galaxies Collide Book 3) (14 page)

Two hundred and sixty miles above the earth’s surface operators were frantically checking the screens in front of them, the command deck flashing intermittently red as warning lights surged across the dimly lit room.

Vice Admiral Chergui’s eyes strained as he read the latest reports scrolling up the main display screen, the Morgon Warships now despatching swarms of fighters from their operational landing bays. Turning from the viewing screen, his voice rose with emotion, ‘Activate all remote guns…we need to hold their fighters! Set a course around the planet…keep them out of firing range of those front guns…we will have to destroy any torpedoes…’ He gasped, spittle ejecting from his open mouth as he swept a hand across his brow, ‘Get me the comms link to the surface now! I need to speak to the Admiral!’

An intelligence officer rose abruptly, his voice firm in determination, ‘Enemy infiltration of our covert communications Sir! I will find another way!’

Chergui shook his head, ‘Do it! Prep a message beacon and target our ship below…fire when ready…’

Another officer rose, ‘Cruiser Serriax is manoeuvring for the flight to fleet Sir…they will leave from the far side of the planet, away from the Morgons…all communication now jammed!’ He glanced down, running a hand across the screen, ‘Enemy fighters approaching…shall I recall some of our own vessels?’

The Vice Admiral nodded, ‘Recall two squadrons…advise them to stay clear of the enemy Warships…no heroics…they protect us only!’ He straightened, raising his voice across the bridge as he pointed, ‘Activate screens and blast shields…let’s see what they have! Battle Stations!’ He stared across his crew fondly as the lights dimmed, ‘The situation is grave…I need you all to follow your training…we must stay out of range of the Warship main guns…if they get a chance to fire, we will be destroyed.’ He sniffed, seeing his loyal crew nod obediently, ‘This is one of the best crews in fleet…we will survive this day!’ Glancing across the bridge crew, he grinned defiantly, ‘Enemy dropships will be deployed soon, we must warn the surface…the war for this planet has now begun. Let us not fail our new allies!’

Admiral Karladen raised the small piece of bread from the plate, inspecting the melted cheese across its surface intently, much to the amusement of the Prime Minister next to him. The Englishman lifted his wine glass, ‘Its named Welsh Rarebit, one of the chef’s celebrated starter dishes to prepare apparently and a favourite amongst the cabinet ministers…’

He watched closely as the Admiral popped the morsel into his mouth, smiling widely as the flavours swept through the emissary’s taste buds, the blue uniformed senior officer turning to him in satisfaction, ‘Your food is glorious in its variety…I have not tasted such delicacies for a long time…the war has deprived us of these luxuries.’ He glanced across the assembled government ministers, ‘The company is to be cherished…a true reflection of the friendship and what can be achieved when two worlds meet and become comrades in a common goal for survival.’

The Prime Minister smiled in satisfaction, his eyes brightening, ‘Please indulge our curiosity if you will…how did the war actually start and what is its history?’

Admiral Karladen looked up, flushing slightly as he realised all eyes were upon him, ‘Well Mr Prime Minister, it was a long time ago and our historical records are believed to be accurate.’ He lifted his wine glass, sipping briefly, then nodding, ‘The Trevakian Empire at that time was not as large, we have gained additional races and planets since the outbreak of hostilities.’ He wiped his mouth conservatively with a napkin, ‘One of our allied races, human-like people very similar to both of us actually, had just joined our alliance and their three planets were situated at the far edge of the next galaxy from us…’ He smiled warmly as he realised the confused expressions on the assembled ministers’ faces, ‘In location terms, the Alixians are approximately seven galaxies from your planet…and at the far edge of that galaxy…at the time one of the furthest planets from us.’

‘The Alixus people were seeking additional resources and in particular, a rare metal ore for the development of their civilisation. On one of their moons, there was an abundance of this ore and other minerals they were mining, and had been for many years. The production was increased dramatically as they developed their technologies, manufacturing and improving efficiency of their operations and products.’

The Admiral selected another thinly sliced piece of toast from the plate in front of him, popping it into his mouth and smiling at the flavours, shaking his head as he continued, ‘We should have monitored the situation more closely, but are or were a more democratic alliance then. The ambitious Alixians began to supply virtually the entire alliance with ore for vessel development, sending mining ships further and further out into the neighbouring uncharted space systems in search of sources and strip mining any planets they found. Several smaller races were experienced or discovered, most joining our alliance as the Alixians continued their search for ore.’ The Admiral shifted uncomfortably, ‘You must understand, we did not consider where the material were coming from, just that we need an endless supply to expand our fleets. The Alixians responded to every growing order eagerly, discovering vast quantities of other materials which were also purchased into the alliance…we began stockpiling ore for expansion, terraforming any suitable abandoned planets discovered by the ambitious miners.’

He sipped from his wine thoughtfully, ‘We were growing at an alarming rate, vast construction and improvement projects requiring more and more materials. The Alixians sent mining ships further out than ever before, into galaxies we had not been able to investigate thoroughly…it was then that they found the Morgons. It was just an outpost…a small group of buildings that the enemy had built as a prelude to investigating the planetary system, we believe at the far edge of their own civilisation.’ Admiral Karladen grinned ironically, ‘They were doing what we were…expanding outwards, but with one exception…they consumed the races they discovered were as we sought alliances.’

The Admiral sat back, emotion filling his eyes as his face flushed, ‘The Alixians apparently attempted to negotiate with them, that was our protocol when discovering new races…they lost contact with the ground ship, then the orbiting station…a military reconnaissance party was sent, and they disappeared, but not before we discovered the true evil that we had awakened…we still use the video messages with all new trainees…’ A tear ran down the Admiral’s face as he glanced around the table, ‘The messages were truly horrific…beyond our comprehension at the time…’ He gulped from his glass, taking a napkin from the table, ‘The Morgons will slaughter anything they come into contact with…they are a carnivorous and barbaric race, consuming and tearing through planetary civilisations with no respect for cultures or existence…’ He stared across at the Deputy Prime Minister, ‘We were too naïve to believe this at first, considering there must be a way to negotiate, to form some sort of a peace…this cost many lives.’

The man opposite stared wide eyed back at the Admiral, ‘W-what happened during the war? I mean it has continued for nearly one hundred years apparently?’

Admiral Karladen nodded, ‘The Alixians and their neighbours…the Herrakians, reacted more efficiently than ourselves, sending troops and weaponry into the new planetary systems and galaxies immediately. Their economies were on a more military footing than most of the alliance and bore the brunt of the initial Morgon onslaught…we escalated conscription and moved our factories from luxury goods to armament production. But soon the outer planets of our alliance came under hostile reconnaissance, then full scale invasions...we despatched vast amounts of troops and armour to support our allies and that is what is still occurring today…there are ongoing battles on many planets across our alliance. We have lost territory and some planetary systems…invoking enormous evacuation efforts and bitter battles across all other territories…virtually every citizen is now in the military as we gear up for the final struggle. We have even sent probes out to investigate other galaxies for allies to join the fight or potentially safe living space for the evacuations, a contingency if the end becomes apparent…’ He sighed despondently, ‘I think, however, there will invariably be no place to hide…we must simply stop them…or be annihilated.’

The Foreign Secretary gritted his teeth in frustration, ‘You involved us in this…’

The Prime minister glared in anger at his subordinate, ‘What would you prefer…to fight these barbarians as allies or on our own…how long do you think we would last as one planet facing this ‘species’?’

The doors at the end of the room burst open, two wide eyed MI6 agents stood with the Trevakian Intelligence Officer, his excited voice raised towards Admiral Karladen, ‘Sir…there is something happening above…Sky Commander Petaski reports all communication links are broken with the orbiting ships and that sensors picked up energy surges in the atmosphere before they were jammed…’

The Admiral stood up abruptly, his tone urgent as he indicated to the viewing room next door, ‘Mr Prime Minister, with your permission, I would like to link with my ship…’

The Englishman rose slowly, indicating frantically to the other ministers, ‘Certainly Admiral…may we accompany you?’

The Commander strode round the long table to join his intelligence officer, leaning over to grasp a final piece of Welsh Rarebit from a serving plate as he neared the door, ‘Of course…we are all allies now…’

The screen flickered, jagged lines of static surging across the picture as Sky Commander Petaski came into view, the image distorting continuously as he straightened his uniform, his cap under his arm. Uniformed bridge staff moved quickly past behind their commander, several frantically seeking information from their screens on the situation above.

Admiral Karladen shook his head at the continual interference, ‘Can’t we get a better link?’

Petaski shook his head, his voice distorted, ‘Apologies Sir…I think this is the best we will get…Morgon jamming and intercepts have increased dramatically…we have lost contact with the ships above…’

The Admiral nodded, ‘So I heard…what have you got for me…what do we know so far?’

Petaski’s image flickered, his voice rising, ‘Information from Chergui shows Morgon presences across the globe…the United States of America seems to be experiencing the most aggressive attacks, with more in Thailand, Japan and northern Russia, particularly inside the Arctic Circle. Sensors have found potential signs in Brazil, some parts of Africa and the Middle East with seemingly nothing in Europe as yet…’

Admiral Karladen glanced across at the Prime Minister, his expression grave as he stared back at the screen, ‘These energy surges…what are they Petaski?’

The Sky Commander shook his head, ‘Not sure Sir…they were extensive, but we were jammed shortly afterwards…my guess would be ships uncloaking, there is little else that could explain the sensor readings…’ He hesitated, seeming uncertain to continue, ‘Sir, the surges were bigger than we have ever experienced…’ Glancing round, he edged nearer the camera nervously, his voice lowered, ‘Surely they could not have got Warships this far across the galaxy?’

Admiral Karladen sucked air, his eyes glancing round cautiously as the government ministers started to whisper to each other, ‘Let us hope that is not the case…contact me immediately we have a new communication link with the ships above…’

Professor Mark Anderson sat in his office at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, sifting through the many papers and images that had recently been delivered, his excitement mounting as he ran his fingers across the detailed printed maps and charts the Trevakians had provided. Charged with mapping the new found details and information, he was to collate and present as much detail as possible for the government and preferably in the shortest time frame, the Prime Minister wanting a full detailed report of their new allies’ positions and the known enemy planets.

Rubbing his hand across his beard, he licked his lips with adrenalin as his eyes poured over the maps and planetary reports, the new allies providing information to the finest detail including land masses, atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels, mining deposits, recommendations on terraforming and even suitable sources of local building materials. Glossaries of exotic animals and species, including alien races and their needs were provided in separate sections of the material, his eyes widening as he savoured the pictures and lavish explanations of creature habits, average lifespans and possible breeding opportunities on other planets to preserve their existence.

At forty-two, the professor was highly respected in his field, his knowledge and reserved, yet appealing nature prompting his invitation to many functions in the British capital and even across the world on occasion. With dark brown eyes and a sincere and engaging approach to situations and challenges, Mark had also become a favourite amongst some of his students at the nearby college where he lectured three times a week.

Mark had always found his profession thoroughly engaging, but with the arrival of the Trevakians only ten days earlier, his work had taken on a whole new meaning and level of excitement. Staring down at a picture of a mammoth like beast, he smiled, glancing across the reported detail and preferred habitat.

A loud knock at the door made him ‘jump’, the young research assistant striding into the room, his hands shaking as he dropped a folder onto his superior’s paper covered desk, his tone excitable, ‘I have just been manning one of the telescopes…’ He indicated to the file urgently, ‘This…these appeared out of nowhere…’ The young man leant forward eagerly, his breathing sharp with excitement, ‘Take a look Mr Anderson, this is very big!’