Space Chronicles: The Last Human War (33 page)

Vipers circled the human ship as if waiting to feast on a kill. Simon continued watching for a weakness in their coverage until Dr. Boroski’s last comment sank into his consciousness.

“Erase the database? Won’t that end your program, too?” The old hologram had become his friend. “Why can’t you just destroy critical data without ending your program?”

“I’m afraid there is no choice. Research that went into this vessel is an integral part of my memories. This technology must be destroyed to prevent reverse engineering. Even though I am only a hologram, I
, too, have developed a fondness for you. I never envisioned having feelings when I created this program.”

“
There’s gotta be another way.”

Vipers circling
the human ship suddenly began departing. Whole groups peeled out of formation simultaneously, leaving one lone fighter sitting directly in front of the human ship.

“Striker Twelve, do you read?”

It was a deeper electronic voice, not like that of the pilot in the nearby Viper.

Simon responded cautiously. “Uh, yeah. This is Simon of Striker Twelve. Who is this?”

“Hello, pilot. That was a good bit of flying you just did. I’m impressed. If you ever need a job, call me. I could use more pilots like you.”

“Who is this?” Simon asked. Even Dr. Boroski cocked his head wondering who this was.

“This is General Tragge . . . Byn Tragge. It has come to my attention you are a human ship. That true?”

“Yes, sir. We don’t mean any harm. We’re just trying to get into space
, so we can find a new home world.”

“I know. Hadje just told me. I called off our fighters
, and you’re free to leave any time you want, but I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. There’s a whole fleet of angry lizards out there, and they don’t much care for humans. You might want to stay and join us in this fight.”

“Thank you, G
eneral, but we’ll take our chances in space.” He carefully avoided revealing the secret technology of the human ship.

“I hope you
know you’re committing suicide,” the general said angrily.

“
We know it’ll be dangerous, but we think we can make it. Besides, we are free, and can never return to captivity.”

“Look kid, we can work
out that captivity nonsense later. Right now, I’ve got a lot more important things to do than argue with a stubborn human. Suit yourself. You’re welcome to return, or go kill yourselves. I really don’t give a damn! We’re sending you the coordinates for the return. Take em or leave em. Tragge, out.”

Simon looked at Dr. Boroski in stunned silence.

The remaining Viper peeled off toward the big Tanarac deep space cruiser nearby, leaving the small human vessel alone, dead in space.

“What are you waiting for?” the hologram said. “We’ve got a free pass. Use it
.”

The Tanarac general wasted no more time worrying about the human craft. He looked at the monitors in his War Room.

Rotaga knows he can defeat
us in a straight space battle,
he thought.
He also knows a stalemate cannot be avoided if my forces remain under our protective cloak. Rotaga, you risked, and lost, three deep-space heavies trying to create that open space fight. You’re desperate.

General Tragge tapped his finger on his armrest
as he thought.

“Ludic, what’s the status on those light ships?”

“They’re outfitted, sir, and holding in sun-side orbit.”

“Get me Admiral Klav with the 11
th
.”

The general
transferred fleet command to the admiral and briefed his new senior space officer about the secret plan.

“
We’re hoping to disable that flagship with those fast attack light ships.”

“I understand,
sir.” The admiral offered his own assessment. “We can win if we can get that command ship out of action. I’ll stage the diversion attack from the southern hemisphere. Good luck.”

General Tragge set the human-inspired plan in motion.

The entire Tanarac fleet began maneuvering above the southern hemisphere of the planet. The general wondered if, three hundred years before, his human counterpart felt the same apprehension when he ran this gambit against Heptari forces.

Rotaga’s
fleet remained at a safe distance but mirrored the Tanarac shift of position to the south. In doing so, two of their capital ships moved away from the big command ship. The general directed the specially equipped light ships to leave orbit on the sun side of the planet.

On cue, the entire Tanarac fleet rose through the upper shield and rushed directly
toward the nearest capital ships of the Heptari fleet.

Enemy commanders
seemed perplexed by the sudden act of aggression. They instinctively formed a classic Heptari defense perimeter around Rotaga’s command ship. It consisted entirely of their heaviest Rahl warships. Only Cosh cruisers maneuvered to meet up-rushing attackers.

Heptari ships turned
to fire their deadly heavy cannons directly into the lead ships. Tanarac vessels with enhanced shields absorbed the cannon fire without damage. As they passed the first of the exposed enemy cruisers, they unleashed a barrage of particle beams into enemy shields. No vessel on either side suffered serious damage.

The second wave of Tanarac ships closed quickly on the Cosh cruisers while the first wave circled for a second attack run. With the Rahls guarding Rotaga’s command ship, Tanarac forces enjoyed numeric superiority in
a battle for the first time.

After s
everal attack exchanges, an enemy cruiser began listing out of formation with damage to its propulsion system. Three Tanarac ships sensed its vulnerability and closed in for the kill. Multiple onboard fires filled the enemy ship, and it stopped maneuvering.

H
eavier Rahl class warships remained out of the fight, despite growing success of the Tanarac fleet. Only after a third Cosh cruiser exploded from concentrated Tanarac firepower, did Rotaga realize he had no choice but to commit his more powerful Rahls to the battle.

At first, only a couple of Rahl’s left the command ship to join
the fight. One circled the space battle in classic Heptari strategy to cut off retreat by enemy ships.

The g
eneral watched his monitors closely as several more big starships left screening duties to join the space battle. In every instance, they maneuvered in such a way as to attack the rear of the Tanarac vessels. The general’s worst fear became reality. Heptari gunners knew the primary vulnerability of the new shield configurations.

Rahls quickly disabled two
Tanarac heavies on their first pass and finished the job on a subsequent attack run.

Admiral Klav adjusted fleet tactics to take advantage of superior speed and maneuverability of his ships. They attacked
enemy vessels from the rear, avoiding direct exposure to the deadly Heptari cannons.

Rotaga
countered with formations allowing them to cover each other’s flank using overlapping fields of fire. Battle tactics fell into a classic standoff of power versus speed.

“Get me, Admiral Klav
. Ludic, what’s the status on the Fir and Palb?”

“
Sir, fusion mines are activated for impact detonation. Just say the word.”

“Has the last Rahl left the command ship?”

Another officer answered. “Yes, sir. The command ship is alone.”

“Klav here.”

“Admiral, see if you can hold out for ten more minutes. We’re springing the trap.”

“Sorry
, sir, we need to break off now. They figured out our shield mods, and they’re targeting our engines from staggered picket formations. We can’t maneuver. My ships are reporting serious shield degradation. Request permission to pull back while I still have a fleet.”

“Permission granted.”

Monitors showed Tanarac ships disengaging with slower Heptari warships in pursuit.

“Status.
” General Tragge needed to know how many ships this ruse cost him.

“Sir, three enemy Cosh class destroyed or disabled. We lost two heavies and two are struggling to make it back.
The admiral is using the fleet to cover the two damaged ships. Sir,” the young officer pointed to the monitor showing the lone Rahl guarding the retreat path, “our guys still have to get past that ship.”

“Prime Skah, Rotaga. The enemy is fleeing. We destroyed two ships and heavily damaged two more. At this rate, they will soon run out of capital ships.
Our enemy is disorganized. This might be a good time to attempt another shield penetration.”

“I agree.” Rotaga saw the opportunity too. “Direct the fleet to attack Tanarac
shield arrays.”

A nearby crewman called out, “Prime Skah, two light ships
, approaching our stern.”

“What armaments do they have?”

The Heptari leader stepped over to look at his technician’s monitor.

“We are detecting standard weapons but their shields are unusually strong. They might be planning to ram us
, sir.”

“They’ll be crushed when they hit our shields at those speeds
,” Rotaga said as he returned to his command seat. “If they slow to pass through our protection, they can be destroyed when they drop defenses for field penetration. They are too small to be of any threat to my flagship.”

Rotaga’s tactical officer
relayed his commander’s orders and personally took control of the weapons console.

The small ships approached gunnery range, but proved to be elusive targets, changing course often while remaining just outside the command ship’s shield.
As they reached the center of the big ship’s stern, both small vessels made an abrupt turn, flying directly up the thrust wake of two giant engines. The tactical officer ordered his tail gunners to destroy the pesky ships.

One shot after another dissipated harmlessly off nose shields of the small ships.

“Prime Skah, our tail gunners are unable to penetrate their shields.”

Rotaga took three long strides to reach the weapons monitor. At first, he was not concerned.

“They will be destroyed when they hit our shields. If they slow to penetrate the field, they will have to drop their shields. Then, your gunners can destroy them.”

The Heptari leader watched two small ships
decelerate to penetrate the command ship shields when a nearby soldier called out a warning.

“Sir!
Sensors detect extremely high levels of radiation from the cargo holds on both vessels. It is consistent with old-style fusion bombs.”

Rotaga recognized the threat immediately.

“Starboard, full throttle. Recall one Rahl. Gunnery center, make sure you destroy them when they drop shields.”

The gunnery captain maintained a running monologue for the Prime Skah.

“Sir, engaging our shields, now. Preparing to fire as they exit. Exiting—fire!”

The first of the small attacking ships vanished in a brilliant fireball, as
it and its deadly cargo vaporized. The second ship was nowhere to be seen. Rotaga thought it may have been destroyed in the secondary explosion from the first ship’s fusion mines.

Suddenly, the second Tanarac
vessel burst out of the center of the fireball, its shields at full power. It rapidly accelerated toward one of the huge ship’s tail thrusters.

“Destroy it!” Rotaga
demanded.

Heptari gunners hit the small ship in a steady stream of particle beam
blasts, but enhanced Tanarac shields did their job. The vessel vanished into the cavernous right main thruster of the big command ship. Several tense moments passed, when the entire command ship shuddered from detonation of fusion mines. One main engine shattered into a spray of space rubble.

Rotaga raged. He threatened to take the heads of all his tail gunners. Then, he turned his wrath on
the command deck personnel. No one dared speak. Finally, Rotaga settled into his command chair, fuming at his setback.

“
Get me a damage estimate. Recall the fleet. Raise the Tanarac commander.”

“General Tragge
, the Heptari commander is haling you.”

A
gruesome reptilian head appeared above the War Room holo-pad.

“Tragge
, you are a worthy adversary. It is too bad you are not Heptari. I could use a subordinate like you. I will spare your head if you surrender now. Your foolish attack on my command ship produced minor damage. We both know, you have nothing to compare with the power of this vessel. I am giving you one last chance to end this conflict. If you force me to attack again, I will use the full power of this flagship to incinerate your planet.”

“What’s the matter, Rotaga? Are the Royals going to have your head if you lose any more ships? I intend to give them good reason. You can’t defeat us.
Why don’t you take your slimy friends, and go back to Heptari while you still have your head?”

General Tragge knew Heptari culture. Rotaga would be disgraced and killed if he lost
. If he won, he could be elevated to the royal house. The Tanarac general hoped against all expectation that there might be a middle ground. Otherwise, this would be a fight to the death.

“I doubt the royal
Codae will reward you,” the general continued, “for delivering a burned out planet and losing most of your fleet. They will probably take your head, even if you win.”

The general
wanted Rotaga to believe this current situation would destroy him, win or lose. He hoped the aspiring Heptari royal might choose to leave now, expecting to return later with a larger force. At least that would give Tanarac time to prepare.

“You are smart
, Tragge, but I know your mind. I am not going to give you time to improve your defenses. The only hope to save your people is unconditional surrender.”

Rotaga’s holo-image vanished.

“Ludic, did you get a damage estimate on that command ship?”

“Sensors show the starboard engine destroyed. Their top speed will drop by forty-three percent
, and they can’t turn to port on main power. Weapon and shield systems are fully functional. We hurt her, sir, but she’s still dangerous.”

Another War Room tech interrupted.

“Sir, the Heptari fleet is disengaging. Looks like’s we’re starting to win.”

General Tragge patted the optimistic young soldier on the shoulder.

“Son, right now, survival is the same as winning.”