Shadow of the Blue Ring (34 page)

“A decoy!” Kalmar exclaimed, “but what for? I’ve never seen this tactic used by the Al’cari before… unless… they are using our own tactics against us. When my people engage the Al’cari, we often send in a cloaked scout or an unmanned ship to get an idea of what we are up against. At the same time we would often position a fleet nearby, hidden somewhere they could not detect us. As soon as we had an idea of what we were up against… we would strike…”

“Open the channel to admirals! Tell them to get the fleet out of here! NOW!” James quickly ordered. It all made sense now, the Al’cari had thrown away their damaged ship in a scouting maneuver to assess the alliance fleets. James had wrongly assumed it to be a lone vessel out for revenge and looking to reclaim the Shadow Bringer but he now realised his mistake. Now that the enemy knew what they were up against, they would be ready to move in for the kill. Right on cue, all the ship’s warning alarms went off.

“Captain, I can’t get a signal to the Vizastador,” said Elena, “something is jamming their communications. I can’t reach Raviano, Kyrakian or Valentina either.”

“Then fire all of our warning flares! Do something!” James shot back, “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming! I was a fool!”

Even if the Al’cari jamming technology didn’t work on some of the Evening Star’s highly advanced systems, the rest of the fleet was not so well off. The enemy’s advanced jamming technology was rendering them blind to everything going on around them and blind to the imminent counter-attack.

“How many ships lieutenant?”

“Sensors show four Al’cari battlecruisers on their way to our location now,” said Ivanov, “they were hidden in the atmosphere of one of the system’s moons this whole time, their signal must have been masked by the moon’s magnetic field.”

James’s moment of glory had done nothing more than serve his enemy with everything they needed to know about the fleet’s capability. Their overwhelming success in the previous encounter was about to become their downfall. With communications down throughout the fleet, they were sitting ducks. Even with the Evening Star’s warning flares, the rest of the fleet would still not be fully aware of what was coming their way.

“Come on, why aren’t they moving!” James cried, “Iyacs, can you get any kind of message to the fleet to let them know what’s coming?”

“I can attempt to open a link with the internal communication systems of each ship in the fleet but it will take a few moments,” Iyacs replied, “what message would you like me to relay to the rest of the fleet.”

“Just tell them to get the hell out of here!” James said aggressively, the seconds counting down until the Al’cari arrived on the scene. The outlines of their ships were now visible in the distance and they were closing fast. It was an anxious few moments as the fleet seemed in total disarray, confused and not knowing where to go or what to do.

“They’re coming up right behind the Vulian fleet!” Kalmar exclaimed, “they’re going to get decimated, you need to warn them now!”

“No, let the Vulians die!” Saavoy contested, “focus on getting the alliance fleets out of here safely, we don’t have time to save them too. And after what they did to us, why should we?”

“No, it doesn’t matter what they did to us right now,” James shot back at him, “in this moment, they are on our side, we need to get everyone out of here, regardless of who they are. Iyacs, I don’t care how you do it, just get the message out there to retreat.”

“I am attempting to relay this information through the computer cores of one hundred and thirty nine ships simultaneously while breaking through the interference of Al’cari jamming technology. I am tasked to capacity right now, I need a moment.”

“We don’t have a moment Iyacs, the Al’cari are almost on us,” James snapped, “Ivanov, how long until they’re in range?”

“Ninety seconds, sir,” said Ivanov, “I don’t think we can clear them out in time, their sensors are blind to everything around them. Unless they actually see the incoming Al’cari ships, they wont know what’s going on or why we launched the flares.”

Any second now, the Al’cari would rip through the Vulian fleet and after that, into the alliance fleets. The casualties would be catastrophic. There was only one thing to do.

“Helmsman, set a collision course with the lead Al’cari ship!” James ordered, “we need to distract them long enough to alert the alliance fleets to the danger.”

“Captain!? You can’t be serious…”

“Just do it!” James dismissed all the protests, “I don’t want to actually ram them, I just want to scare them enough to give the rest of the fleet the time they need to retreat. Set a course then pull up at twelve hundred meters distance.”

“Captain, remind me to recommend you for a psych evaluation when we get back to Earth,” Daniels shook his head as he moved the ship on course towards the fast approaching Al’cari battlecruiser, “sending us to our graves in five… four…”

“Yeah, I get the picture helmsman, just hold your course and draw their attention. As soon as the fleet is on the move, turn us around and get us out of here! I have no plans to die today.”

Daniels sent them forward at full attack speed right into an intercept trajectory with the leading Al’cari ship. A couple of alliance ships had started to make a move and were leaving the area but the majority were still blind and confused. Facing it down, the Evening Star was heading right into the front of the approaching Al’cari battlecruiser. It was not going to be intimidated though. Three blasts of the shock cannons were not enough to deter it and it held course.

“PULL UP!”

The entire command crew held their breath as the Al’cari ship passed within less than three hundred meters of the Evening Star, totally ignoring their maneuver. The Al’cari passed straight by them and continued towards the fleet, ready to fire on the closest Vulian cruisers.

“Captain, I have a stable link to the fleet,” said Iyacs, it’s timing could not have been any better in this instance, “you are free to relay your message.”

“This is captain James Tavarez of the Evening Star, I am ordering a full retreat! I repeat, full retreat! Get yourselves out of here and head back to Tolis, the Al’cari are right on top of us. Move now or you will be destroyed!”

The message had got through but it was going to be too late for some of them. Every last ship in the fleet made a move, turning away from the incoming Al’cari attack and going full speed in the opposite direction. James watched anxiously as they scrambled for safety but the message had come too late, the first Al’cari cruiser opened fire, hitting two Vulian battlecruisers and tearing through their defences. The Vulian fleet was returning fire frantically but the Al’cari shields were shrugging off all the damage. In small numbers, they were not able to inflict the sort of damage the full force of the fleet had previously dished out.

“Come on! Come on! Get moving!” James said anxiously as he watched another Al’cari ship reach weapons range of the alliance fleet. Two Naisan battleships managed to dodge out of the way but another Voronian cruiser was not so lucky and it was quickly overwhelmed and destroyed. A few ships had managed to make the jump to warp and get clear of the system but the vast majority were still trapped and scrambling to get away. The Vulians were getting the worst of it, three of their ships had already gone down and more were in harms way, including Kyrakian’s capitol ship which was dangerously close to the lead Al’cari ship. As much as James could never forgive them for the atrocities they committed under the leadership of emperor Mordan, he could not just stand by and watch them torn apart, even if this alliance was only temporary. But no matter what they tried, they couldn’t stop the Al’cari attack, all they could do was try to rally the fleets and get them out of the fight before they were completely overwhelmed.

More and more ships were making the jump, at least half of the fleet, including Raviano and Juarez’s ships had escaped to hyperspace but others were still struggling to get away. Valentina’s capitol ship was still caught in the fray though, the Churian admiral fighting to cover the escape of the rest of his people and the others in the alliance. Even a ship as durable as his would not last long against Al’cari firepower though and nor would Kyrakian’s. Without a seconds warning, the young Vulian executor’s ship was hit with a wave of fire from two Al’cari ships and it was blown apart, scattering debris throughout the scrambling Vulian fleet.

“DAMN IT!” James exclaimed. The young executor had been a shining example of the potential that the Vulian race might have had. To lose him would be a major setback for Darien’s empire.

“James, there is nothing more we can do here, we have to go,” Isha urged him, “I don’t want to lose any more people but we can’t do anything for them now, the Al’cari are too powerful.”

“We can still save them!” James contested, “just keep firing on the Al’cari, draw their attention away from the other cruisers.”

“James, they’re taking out the rest of the fleet to get to us,” Kalmar warned, “they know we have the Shadow Bringer, thats why they’re not going for us. They’re scattering the fleet to get us alone so that they can take the weapon from us.”

As long as there were still people to save, James could not abandon them. He never wanted to abandon another soul and leave them to die just as he had done in the past but Isha and Kalmar were right, they could not do any more. Most of the fleet was at warp, the last stragglers were being chased down and destroyed. There were distress calls from all around them, escape pods and shuttles flying all over the place with some people lucky enough to get off their doomed ships in the nick of time. Still, the Al’cari continued to ignore the Evening Star while they went about destroying the last few trapped ships.

“Get us out of the system,” James resigned, sinking down into his chair, “move us away from the Al’cari ships. Set a course for Tolis once we’re at a safe distance. I’m going straight to the council ship and I’m damn well doing to make Artennes realise what he has allowed to happen here.”

James watched through the view-screen as it showed the battle behind them fading into the distance. From the wreckage, he estimated that the alliance had lost a total of nineteen cruisers and the Vulians a further seven. Losses they could simply not afford while they had barely finished rebuilding from six years ago. The last few ships made it to warp leaving the four Al’cari ships alone among the debris field. The battlefield went silent, dead.

“Sir, I have an escape capsule coming in hot,” Ivanov broke the silence on the bridge, “it’s Vulian, sir, I think it’s executor Kyrakian.”

“Get him aboard, now!” James exclaimed, jumping up from his chair.

“We went down this route six years ago, James,” Saavoy interjected, “you know how it goes when you bring Vulians on board. Let one of his own people save his ass.”

“Kasha, I know you’ll never forgive the Vulians for what they did to you, nor should you,” said James, “but we need this guy. He might be our best chance at achieving a permanent truce with the empire.”

“If this goes wrong, it’s all on you,” Saavoy sighed, “if he turns into Darien mark two, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Noted. Daniels, open the shuttle bat and tractor his escape capsule in. Once we have them, set a course for Tolis, maximum warp.”

“Bringing him in now sir,” said Daniels, hardly enthusiastic about the prospect of being joined on the ship by the old enemy. There would be a fair few among the crew thinking the very same thing.

As soon as the capsule was safely in the shuttle bay, Daniels set a course back to the Valoran sector and made the jump to warp. James quickly left the bridge and ran for the shuttle bay to meet the new arrivals. Already on scene was Lucy with several of the crew’s security officers, taking no chances with Vulian officers now on board the ship.

“James, what’s going on here?” She was quick to ask him as he arrived on the scene, “this is a Vulian escape capsule, you are aware of this, right?”

“It’s Ok, Lucy, I’ve got this,” James ushered them to one side, “I don’t think our guests will be a problem.”

At least he hoped they wouldn’t. The loading ramp to the escape capsule came down and the Vulian executor Kyrakian made his way down, three of his senior officers alongside him. They were carrying weapons but they were holstered and none of the officers were showing any aggressive intentions. Kyrakian, in fact, looked grateful to him for having saved him. It was hardly a feeling any Vulian officer or soldier would be comfortable with.

“Captain James Tavarez…” Kyrakian began, “. . . I find myself in the rather awkward position of being thankful to you for saving my life.”

“Executor Kyrakian, welcome aboard the Evening Star,” James said calmly, although many members of his security team were not sharing his feelings of calm. They were edgy and glancing down towards their weapons every few seconds.

“I must admit, I took a risk by chasing down your ship in hope of being rescued,” said Kyrakian, “I am glad you saw fit to oblige though, despite the history between our two people.”

“With everything going on right now, I think we can put aside whatever history we might have,” said James, “as long as your people continue to honour the truce, I am happy to work together.”

“As are we,” said Kyrakian, the tension between the officers on both sides visibly calmed by the sight of their two leaders doing away with the hostilities. With so much at stake for both sides, they knew it was in everyone’s best interests to continue to work together.

“I will have my security teams set up accommodation for you and your officers,” said James, “we will stop by with the remains of your fleet when we get back to Tolis and return you to your people.”

“It is appreciated,” said Kyrakian, “however, due to the circumstances, I would like to join you and your command crew on the bridge. From what Darien has told me about you, I know that you will be wanting to find a way to end this before the alliance suffers any more losses. Given the current truce between us, I would like to see what I can do to help.”

“There is a lot we will have to bring you up to speed on,” said James, “this fight goes a long way beyond your empire, our alliance and a group of raiders from the Blue Ring sector.”