Space Chronicles: The Last Human War (29 page)

Ludic called out to General Tragge. “Sir, the retrofit of the 9th is complete, and they’ve been redeployed.”

The
general had just finished talking with the government Council. The planet was about as prepared as it could be. Even Taskers in human quarries received briefings about current threats, and they were organizing patrols for the perimeters of the quarries. Despite all the preparations, the general secretly worried they might not be sufficient against this large enemy force.

“Sir, Heps are here. They’re coming out
. All light ships.”

Admiral Paad’s forces pounced on each Heptari invader as it emerged from the last asteroid field. Enemy ships exploded one after the other, but for each ship destroyed, several more appeared to take its place.

Battle spread across Tanarac’s night sky as large numbers of small ships joined in combat. The centralized command structure of the Heptari military left their pilots with no room for improvisation. Tanarac pilots had spent countless hours in simulators, developing individual flying instincts. It showed.

General Tragge ordered a running tally of the battle
damage on a small tactical screen at his command chair. He had already agreed with Admiral Paad it would take a kill ratio of at least five to one to justify keeping Tanarac fighters at risk. So far, the ratio held steady at over seven enemy ships killed for each friendly ship lost. The battle raged in Tanarac’s favor until the first Cosh cruiser emerged from the asteroid belt. It came out firing its powerful main cannon at the nearest group of Tanarac light ships. Small vessels had no chance. Each hit resulted in complete obliteration of the targeted craft. Even a medium-class Kyel destroyer suffered heavy damage from a single blast by the powerful Heptari cannon.

The a
dmiral gave the order to reposition his ships under the safety of the planetary shields.

The War Room comm officer stood in excitement. “
Sir! I’ve got Admiral Loyo with the 10
th
on your command line.”

“Put him on speaker.”

“Hey General, we’re coming in hot. Gonna drop outta grav drive, sun side. Keep it clear for us. Don’t want to squash any of your little ships. I’ve got ten heavies with me and the 11
th
has fourteen, all star-class killers ready for action. Grav drive conversion in less than an hour. Sorry we couldn’t respond sooner. Heps are crawling all over this system. We had to make some course detours to get here without engaging them. We monitored Admiral Lu’s report to you earlier, so we’ll stack our shields when we drop in. Almost outta fuel. We’re good if we don’t have to make any long combat runs.”

“Welcome to the war, Admiral
. Glad to have your help. Comm, conference this call with Admiral Paad.”

“Already done
, sir. He’s been listening.”

Admiral Paad jumped in. “Hey Fraz, Lorm here. Good to hear from you guys. We’re spotty on planetary defense in the southern hemisphere. When you drop in, send four heavies down there for planetary grid stations. Bring the rest into sub-shield orbit at the space docks. We’re going to upgrade your shields.
Transmitting entrance vectors right now.”

“You got it, Lorm.
Save some of those Heps for us. Don’t take em all out yourself.”

Admiral Loyo’s light tone changed
and became deadly serious. “General, we scanned some new kind of Hep ship in deep space. These things are bigger than anything I’ve ever seen.”

“
We’ve already seen one. How many did you make?”

“Three,
sir. They’re definitely heading this way, but they didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Either that, or they’re really slow.”

The general heard enough.

“Lorm, we can’t risk losing any more ships with help so close. Make sure your commanders understand to stay under planetary shields no matter what the Heps do to provoke them.”

The Tanarac commander
watched several monitors tracking enemy capital ships as they emerged from the asteroid field into local space. He counted twenty-five Rahl and Cosh class ships and countless minor vessels. Then, Rotaga’s new super ship came into view. Its sheer magnitude stunned the general and his staff.

“Ludic, shield report.”

“Sir, all three shields, one hundred percent and fully extended. I integrated our shield oscillation frequency with the cannons on our heavies. We can fire out with full power, but Heps can’t fire in.”

“
How are we set for shield energy access?”

“Got it covered this time,
sir. We can run full-strength shields for a week, if we need to. They caught me off guard once. That’s all they get.”

“General, the Heptari commander is hailing you!”

“Open the holo-pad.”

An image immediately formed.

“General Tragge. I am Prime—”

“I know who you are.
Say what you have to say.” The general intentionally showed no respect to the Heptari commander.

“We have a vastly superior force. You have no hope for success. Drop your planetary shields. There is no need for us to fight.”

“The last time a Heptari told one of my ships to drop shields they were slaughtered in violation of Galactic Law. Why should I believe you this time?” It occurred to the general that every minute he could keep the Heptari commander talking, his 10
th
and 11
th
Battle Groups were getting closer.

Rotaga thought a moment before responding. “That was a mistake. A gunner was eager to please
. He has been punished. Of course, you mined an asteroid field, violating Galactic Law. Was that a mistake? Drop your shields as a show of good faith. We can negotiate a settlement.”

“What kind of settlement?” The
general continued to buy time.

“You initiated war against the Heptari Empire when we attempted a peaceful scan of your planet looking for humans. You now face superior forces.
Defeat is inevitable. If you agree to our terms, you will become a valued province in the Heptari Empire. Your people do not have to die. They may live in peace, serving our Supreme Codae.”

“How do we know you will keep your word?” The
general tried to make his consideration sound genuine.

“It is in our best interests to keep our word. If we destroy you, it is our loss. Tanarac is worth more to the Heptari Empire without a fight. Now, for the last time, drop your planetary shields.”

The enemy fleet slowly approaching the planet while they talked. Several formations began to move into wide orbits to surround the planet. The general continued his ruse.

“I do not have authority to make such a decision on behalf of our Empire. I must consult our governing Council. That will take some time.”

“You have five minutes to drop your shields.” Rotaga’s image vanished from the holo pad.

The general
waited a few seconds to make sure the connection was fully severed.

“Lorm, are you monitoring?”

“I’m here.”

“Be ready. Heps never wait. I’m keeping our comm link open.”

“Yes sir. Here they come.”

Monitors in the War Room showed acceleration by the Heptari fleet
, only the big command vessel remained at a distance.

Tanarac defenders, following orders, held fast to their positions below the planetary shields. Cannon blasts from the
approaching enemy fleet dissipated on the outermost planetary shield, but Tanarac ships did not fire in return.

Heptari
vessels made several more passes, each time firing with no effect.

One big Rahl class starship slowed to a stationary position over the third planetary shield generator. It began a sustained particle beam attack
toward the generator’s projection array, but its energy beam scattered with no success in a shower of static sparks across the planetary shield.

Admiral Paad’s flagship moved beneath the enemy
vessel and opened fire with his topside cannons. The energy blasts passed through the planetary shield, at full strength, and pounded the enemy belly shields. It was clear the enemy did not expect Ludic’s shield modulation.

Large pieces of molten metal spun off the damaged Rahl
, and it attempted to return fire at the admiral’s flagship. Again, its particle beam scattered across the planet’s protective field. The enemy ship retreated from its vulnerable position.

The Heptari fleet suspended its attack, taking a blockade formation just out of range of Tanarac’s land-based
cannons. An assortment of small craft began to assemble in front of their heavy ships.

General Tragge anticipated each
of his opponent’s moves and kept in close contact with his in-space commander.

“Lorm, they’re going to send light attack ships through our shields.
Going after our shield generators or projector arrays. They’ll try to overwhelm us with numbers. Scramble your fleet defense fighters. We’ll commit our Obols for high altitude and hold back the Tangs for lower atmospheric defense. I’ve got four Tangs circling each generator. Nothing gets through.”

“
We’ll take out as many as we can before they reach the atmosphere.” Strike Vipers streaked out from the holds of all the admiral’s heavy ships while he spoke.

Several dozen Heptari Slegs and hundreds of fleet fighters approached the planetary shields at full throttle. Enemy heavies screened for their attacking ships by unleashing an enormous field of fire at the planetary shield. Some of their own fighters
exploded in the process, but single-minded Heptari fighter pilots showed no concern for friendly fire, continuing at full throttle.

Enemy
fighters reached the top planetary shield where braking thrusters adjusted their direction and speed to achieve the low velocity, shallow trajectory necessary to pass through a force field. They dropped their own shields and penetrated the top Tanarac force field.

Heptari
ships were easy targets due to slow velocity and lack of shields as they emerged from the uppermost planetary energy barrier. Vipers made quick work of the first wave.

Soon, vast numbers of enemy craft
swarmed shields around the planet. Vipers faced far more enemy ships than they could possibly destroy. In the lower atmosphere, it was a different matter.

“Sir, Obols report one hundred percent kills.
We’re getting em all, general!”

General Tragge knew better than to be exuberant like
this young officer. He offered a sobering reply. “It only takes one fighter to destroy a shield array.”

“
Heavies are coming!
”
Admiral Paad’s voice came over the linked comm. “We’re moving out to engage them.”

“Negative
! I repeat, negative,” the general said. “Remain under the shield. That’s what they want. We can’t beat twenty-six to three odds. Parallel their maneuvers. They can’t come through our shields without dropping their defenses. That’s when they’ll be vulnerable. Hang in there, Lorm. Only twenty minutes until the odds change.”

“Sir
, multiple grav distortions. Sun side. Screen twelve.”

“Kelly, I need you to come to the bridge for takeoff,” Simon spoke through the walls. “Do you remember the way? If not, I can send Dr. Boroski to show you.”

Soon,
the assembly of humans, hicay and hologram stood on the command deck watching video feeds from space while Simon explained the severity of the situation.

Dr. Boroski nodded to the
neophyte pilot who reclined in his command chair. Six final connectors folded over from his head cover and attached on his forehead and temples. Simon appeared to slip into a trance. Kelly’s connection with him ended.

Three large contoured chairs rose
from the floor and Simon’s voice sounded in the air.

“Please take a seat in one of these crew chairs.
Kerl-Ga will need to sit in a chair too. Will you explain that to her, Shilgar? The chair and restraints will automatically adapt to her body shape, and she’ll be comfortable.”

It was an odd sight, this huge animal climb
ing timidly onto a crew chair. Restraints snaked up over contours of her body, and the chair altered form as it adapted to her physique. She snapped defensively when one of the belts tightened near her throat. It retracted slightly as if it understood her discomfort.

“It’s okay, old girl.” Shilgar spoke aloud while making hand signals. She relaxed.

The others followed Kerl-Ga’s lead, getting secure in their seats.

Dr. Boroski began instructions aloud.
“Initiate linear phase engines. Verify power links to field grids. Begin power up.”

Standing
immediately behind Simon’s headrest, the holo-scientist watched as the ship began to vibrate and a low hum filled the room. Numerous displays jumped to life.

“Increasing power to external field grid
,” the nervous pilot repeated his instructions. “Tower grid one, activated. Transferring fifteen percent power to the zero degree projectors. Opening first polar view screen.”

A blank
display on the ceiling directly above the command station came to life. It showed a dark image of solid rock.

Dr. Boroski coached his young pilot.

“You will have to fly this ship through a narrow path of molten rock. Increase power to the zero degree time refracting projectors until the rock above becomes viscous. Once the magma becomes sufficiently fluid, you will accelerate the ship directly up into the resulting magma pocket. Do not rise faster than the flow rate of molten rock as it is being displaced. If you proceed too fast, we will impact solid rock on the far side of the magma pool. When in doubt, it is better to rise too slowly. Are you ready?”

Simon’s voice materialized again in the control room.
“How will I know the depth of the molten rock above us?”

“Monitor your scanner for strata density above the ship. Molten rock is less dense than solid rock. You will see a change in density at the far side of the pool. That transition point will indicate the distance through magma to solid rock. Maintain constant fluid depth while we travel. If it decreases, you’re rising too fast. If it increases, you are traveling too slow and consuming unnecessary fuel in the process. Can you see the present density?”

“Yeah, but there’s no differential in density.”

“That is correct. There is no molten rock above us yet, so the density is constant. Increase power to the zero degree projectors.”

Simon complied and one of the gauges began rising noticeably.

Kelly
sensed enormous energy building in the ship. It reminded her of the power surge when she energized Striker Twelve, only this was countless times greater.

S
olid rock, pictured in the display above, began to glow. It was dull red at first, but as the ship’s power increased, it grew brighter.

“Very good,
young man,” the hologram coached. “The rock is beginning to stratify. We have seventy-two percent output. Continue raising power until you reach maximum output on zero degree projectors. Kelly, you are going to help him keep track of magma depth. Do you see the gauge labeled ‘Scanner Penetration’ in front of you?”

Dr. Boroski’s request surprised Kelly. “Uh, yes. It has numbers on it and a white bar next to the numbers. The bar is rising.”

“That’s the one. Simon is going to be busy balancing the ship’s power output and flight controls. He is also monitoring the ship’s top phase projectors. You will monitor the magma depth so he knows if he should increase or decrease the main thrust vector. What is it reading now?”

“It says three point seven and rising slowly.”

Kelly was reminded of her close coordination with her birth mate back on the stripper plow.

“When it gets to twenty, we will begin our exit lift
,” the hologram said. “Call out the number as the bar passes each whole mark. Once we start moving, only call out a number if it increases or decreases to the next whole number. We don’t need increments in between, only the number. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”
She began calling out each number as the bar rose on the gauge. When it touched twenty, she noticed the brightly glowing rock on the monitor above began flowing in several directions, all away from the center of the image.

“You did it
,” Dr. Boroski said. “Magma is flowing and it’s deep enough to begin primary lift. Main thrust controls are quite sensitive, so increase power slowly.”

The human space ship shook as power
grew, but it did not lift off.

“Be patient,”
the doctor cautioned. “Hold power steady at this level. The ship must break free from its bed. It’s been sitting here for three hundred years. This might take a minute.”

The ship rocked gently from side to side, straining against some unseen grasp.

“This is normal. Bonds are beginning to release.” Dr. Boroski tried to settle the nerves of his control room passengers.

Suddenly, the ship lurched upward. Kelly saw the bar on her graph drop almost to the bottom. She frantically called out the numbers.

“Twelve, six, three, two!”

“It’s okay
.” The hologram’s voice carried a tinge of excitement. “That was breakaway surge. I allowed for it in our calculations. The numbers should start moving up again.”

Sure enough, the gauge began a steady rise until it was above thirty and the human spacecraft continued moving slowly up
ward in the manufactured magma bubble.

“
Increase main engine thrust until the density meter begins to fall. Kelly will let you know the numbers. When the numbers fall to twenty, reduce main thrust slightly. You need to find the ideal velocity where the magma depth stays constant just above twenty meters.”

Shilgar could feel the ship lifting.
His sharp senses detected every subtle change in the ship’s orientation.

“Excellent,
” Dr. Boroski praised his students. “You are maintaining a very good thrust to magma displacement ratio.”

The monitor view above that
was originally showing solid rock now revealed white-hot lava as it splashed past the monitor with astonishing speed.

C
oordination between former Striker Twelve team members reminded Kelly of many times when they synchronized efforts while following veins of C-Syncolite. It felt right to be working together. She found herself staring at him. He no longer looked like the young man she had grown up with. Something was different. Confidence and strength coupled with new leadership strength made him larger than ever before. Feelings welled up—feelings she could not explain.

“I’m getting a message
for Shilgar,” Simon’s voice called above the engine noise. “I’ll put it on the cabin intercom. You can speak with him directly. Go ahead.”

“Shilgar, can you hear me?” Benjamin
asked.

“
Yes. Did you get my message?” he shouted as if he had to reach his friend over some great distance.

“
We did. Thank you, and you don’t need to yell. I hear you fine. We already knew about the Heptari ships. Our people are going to ground as we speak. Dr. Hadje told the Taskers about us, and they received us well. Scout corps personnel elected to join Tanarac forces to help defend the quarries. I know you would rather be here, but we need you to find a new home world for our people as soon as possible. I hope to join you in the future. Teach our people well.”

Shilgar lowered his voice to normal.

“Good luck, Ben. I’ll do my best to build a home in the sun for our people. Kelly has a question for you.”

She asked,
“If you see Adam, can you give him a message for me?”

“
He’s working closely with me. Pretty good, too, at teaching quarry residents to embrace their freedom. What would you like me to tell him?”

“Tell him I mi
ss him, and take care of himself,” Kelly choked up and tears filled her eyes.

“Consider it done. I have to go. Have a safe journey
, and may you all walk in the sun.”

Shilgar was visibly relieved as the transmission ended. Before launch, he
had asked to send a message to his free human friends, warning about the severity of the nearby Heptari threat.

Dr. Boroski added, “
I will keep all radio channels open in case they need to make further contact with you.”

The doctor
changed subjects.

“
We are approaching the surface. Numbers will drop quickly. When they reach ten, terminate top projector power and apply full thrust to the antigrav engines. There will be a sudden change in velocity as the ship accelerates out of the magma pool. After that, we must recharge the hull so we have enough energy to reach escape velocity from Tanarac.”

Kelly’s gauge held steady at twenty-two for quite some time.
She had been warned to expect the sudden drop, but when it happened, it was much faster than she expected. “Twenty, no, eighteen. Fifteen. Simon, we’re below ten!”

The human space ship surged at an astonishing rate. Lava streaming across the top view fell away, replaced by bright blue sky.

“Excellent,” Dr. Boroski said. “I can tell you two have worked together before. Simon, I just gave you a set of coordinates internally. Follow that course and continue at present thrust.”

The hologram
turned his attention to the others.

“This
will be your first time in space. Don’t be concerned about changes of sky color in the monitors. Blue sky you are accustomed to results from light penetrating through the atmosphere. As we enter space, outside views will change to black. That is completely normal. Here are some other views you might enjoy.”

Monitors lit up around the control cabin giving passengers a panoramic view of the world outside the ship. One monitor showed a dizzying picture of the planet’s surface as it shrank away below them
, while another showed the horizon with its thin line of blue atmosphere below the blackness of space. They marveled at the views.

“What about Heptari
warships?” Simon’s voice carried over the ship’s hum.

“The main Heptari fleet is in space
on the dark side of the planet,” Dr. Boroski said with reassuring confidence. “They have not detected us. We will try to avoid them by flying past the Tanarac suns. This will also recharge our hull.”

Simon’s voice suddenly boomed out.

“Doctor, we’ve got company!”