The Star Cross (28 page)

“Four minutes
to hyperspace emergence,” said Ensign Styles, as he double-checked their course
and the projected dropout points for all three ships.

Kurt felt his
heart speed up, and he took several deep breaths. Around him, the tension increased
in the Command Center as they neared the time for battle.

“Enemy ships
are holding their position,” confirmed Andrew, his focus on the tactical
screen.

“Two minutes
to dropout,” reported Ensign Styles.

“All ships,
stand by for combat,” Kurt said over the ship-to-ship comm. “Shields up as soon
as possible.”

The last
minute crawled by, and then Kurt felt the familiar gut-wrenching sensation, as
they dropped from hyperspace. On the viewscreen a background of stars suddenly
appeared.

“Targets!”
called out Lieutenant Mays. “Target locks! Launching hypermissiles!”

-

On the
Star
Cross
, six hatches slid open over her converted missile tubes. The missiles
exited the tubes and then seemed to blur, as their hyperspace drives kicked in.
Two missiles carrying fifty-kiloton warheads slammed into the nine-hundred-meter-long
Profiteer battlecruiser. Two fiery glowing suns appeared as the ship was torn
asunder. One missile each struck the pair of six-hundred-meter-long escort cruisers,
turning them into molten wrecks. The final two hypermissiles hit the Dacroni battleship.
However, the ship had its energy shield up, and the missiles exploded harmlessly
fifty meters from the armored hull.

The
Dallas
and the
Johnas
both managed to disable the hyperdrives on their targets
using their defensive laser batteries. Several pinpoint blasts ensured the
cargo ship and the two detainee ships wouldn’t be going anywhere soon.

The Dacroni
battleship slowly turned toward its attacker. Missile ports slid open, and
energy projectors powered up.

-

“Profiteer battlecruiser
and both escort cruisers are down,” reported Lieutenant Brooks excitedly and
then, in a more concerned voice, said, “The Dacroni battleship had its energy
shield up, and both hypermissiles detonated fifty meters from the hull. It’s turning
toward us!”

“Crap!” swore
Andrew, looking intently at the tactical screen. “I was afraid of that. We’ll
have a fight on our hands.”

“Targeting battleship
with our particle beam cannon and main KEW batteries,” reported Lieutenant Mays,
as she swiftly passed on new orders to her tactical team.

“Captain Owens
and Captain Marsh are reporting that their targets have been disabled,” added
Andrew, as he listened to the two captains over the ship-to-ship comm. “They’re
moving to assist us against the battleship.”

-

In space, a
dark blue particle beam flashed from the
Star Cross
to strike the
Dacroni energy shield. It was followed by number of large KEW rounds from the
ship’s bow batteries. Brilliant flashes of light lit up the battleship’s shield
as the rounds struck at 10 percent of the speed of light, releasing massive
amounts of kinetic energy.

The two light cruisers
moved up and added their own weapons to the attack. Two more particle beams
lashed out and more KEW rounds hit the Dacroni energy screen too.

From the
Dacroni battleship, four white energy beams leaped forth to strike the
Star
Cross
’s energy shield.

-

The
Star
Cross
vibrated sharply, and warning alarms sounded on the damage control
console.

“Energy beam penetrated
the shield,” Andrew reported, as reports of damage came in. “We have several
compartments open to space.”

“I’m having
all three ships fire their particle beams at the same spot on the battleship’s
energy shield,” Lieutenant Mays reported. “I’m hoping we can overload that one section.
We’ll follow up with a barrage of KEW rounds.”

“Do it!”
ordered Kurt, as the
Star Cross
shook violently. Kurt could hear his
ship crying out in protest from the onslaught of Dacroni weapons fire. The hull
seemed to ring with every strike to the energy shield.

“That was a
fifty-kiloton hypermissile,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, her face turning pale.

“Energy shield
is at 70 percent and dropping,” warned Andrew with concern on his face. “We’re
not designed to take on a fully armed battleship with an active energy shield.”

“I know,” answered
Kurt grimly. “But what other choice do we have?”

“Firing
particle beams,” called out Lieutenant Mays.

On the main viewscreen,
three particle beams stuck the same section of the enemy battleship’s energy
screen. The shield glowed brilliantly in cascades of exploding colors, and then
a single KEW round struck the side of the vessel. The impacted section of the
ship blew apart, and debris scattered.

“We got a
hit!” called out Lieutenant Mays, as she tried to fire more rounds into the
damaged section, only to see them explode harmlessly against the energy shield.

“Hypermissile
tubes are reloaded,” reported one of the other tactical officers.

“Sir, the
Johnas
!”
called out Lieutenant Brooks in alarm, pointing toward the viewscreens in the
front of the Command Center.

Looking at the
indicated viewscreen, Kurt saw the ship under heavy attack from the battleship.
A hypermissile suddenly slammed into the stern of the light cruiser, and the
ship vanished in a fiery explosion.

“
Johnas
is down,” reported Lieutenant Brooks in a stunned voice.

“Firing all
hypermissiles,” Lieutenant Mays said in a steady and commanding voice.

Almost instantly
the Dacroni energy shield lit up under the massive release of energy. At the
same moment, the
Star Cross
fired her particle beam cannon. The dark
blue beam struck the fluctuating energy shield and penetrated, drilling deep
inside the enemy battleship. A huge section of the hull split open, and
secondary explosions rattled the vessel. More KEW rounds penetrated the shield,
opening up compartment after compartment on the enemy ship.

“Enemy energy
shield is down,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, as she read the information coming
in over the short-range sensors.

“Firing all weapons,”
said Lieutenant Mays in a vengeful voice.

A few moments later
the Dacroni battleship exploded, as her power reserves were compromised. A huge
blast ripped apart the ship from the inside, leaving the vessel a torn and
mangled wreck.

“Dacroni battleship
is down,” confirmed Lieutenant Brooks with relief in her eyes.

“Cease fire,”
ordered Kurt, taking a deep breath.

“It’s over,”
Andrew said, his face still white from witnessing the
Johnas
’s destruction.

“Secure from
Condition One and take us to Condition Two,” ordered Kurt. “Shuttle some Marines
to board that cargo ship and the two detainee ships ASAP. Capture the crew and
don’t harm them unless they offer resistance.”

“Shuttles will
be leaving shortly,” Andrew replied, now speaking to the lieutenant in charge
of their flight bay, where four small shuttles were.

Kurt unfastened
his safety harness and looked around at his command crew. Many had shocked
looks on their faces from the loss of the
Johnas
. It had always been a
risk that one or more of the enemy ships might have their shields up. Captain
Owens had been a good commander. He had brought the warning to Newton, when the Profiteers had first struck Earth. He had just barely made it to Newton in his heavily damaged light cruiser. His perseverance had held the shattered ship
together until they could warn the colony.

“Once the
convoy ships are secure, we’ll hold a brief memorial service for our people we
lost today,” Kurt announced. “Their deaths will be remembered.”

Leaning back
in his command chair, Kurt watched as three shuttles left the
Star Cross
and docked with the convoy ships. There was no resistance, and shortly all
three were under the Marines’ control. Once the memorial service was over, he
would dispatch the
Dallas
to Newton to escort the waiting cargo ship and
the two passenger liners here to the disabled ships. It would take fourteen to fifteen
days before the
Dallas
and company could return to this system. During
that time, the
Star Cross
would keep a protective watch over the
captured convoy ships.

Kurt knew,
sometime shortly afterward, High Profiteer Creed would learn that his convoy
fleet had vanished. If the High Profiteer responded as expected and sent ships
out searching for his missing convoy, then it might buy Earth and Newton the time needed to prepare for the next step in the war: the freeing of Earth from
the Profiteers.

The
Star
Cross
dropped out of hyperspace just two million kilometers from Newton. Moments later the
Dallas
, the cargo ship
Graham One
, and the passenger
liners
Empress
and
Stardust
also put in an appearance.

“All ships
have emerged from hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, as she gazed at the
green icons on her sensor screen.

Kurt nodded.
They had been gone for nearly twenty-eight days, and he was relieved to be
returning to Newton.

“It’s good to
be home,” Andrew said, as he listened to the different departments check in
over his comm.

Suddenly
Lieutenant Brooks looked over at Kurt with growing alarm on her face. “I’m
picking up additional contacts around the planet! I have what appear to be ten
large cargo ships of Kubitz design, four battleships, and ten battlecruisers,
and two other ships I can’t identify.”

“The defense
grid and our new ships,” Andrew said, his eyes lighting up. “I thought the ships
would come at least a few weeks to a month after the defense grid arrived.”
Andrew was pleased to see them, as it meant that shortly Newton would be safe
and so would his family.

Lieutenant
Brooks looked relieved after hearing Andrew’s announcement. “I believe you’re
correct, sir.”

“I don’t know
why they’re here so early, but I’m glad they are,” said Kurt, as he looked at
the tactical display and the numerous new icons showing up in orbit around Newton.

“I’ve got Rear
Admiral Wilson on the comm,” reported Ensign Pierce. “He’s confirming the large
ships are Kubitz cargo ships, two construction ships, and the others are the
new fleet.”

“Take us in,
Ensign Styles,” ordered Kurt. He was anxious to inspect the new ships
personally. “Ensign Pierce, inform
Graham One
,
Empress
, and the
Stardust
that they’re to proceed and dock with Newton Station.”

“I wonder how
long it will take them to install the defense grid,” Andrew said, as he shifted
his gaze to the viewscreens.

On the main
screen one of the massive cargo ships suddenly appeared. The vessel was nearly
two thousand meters in length and four hundred meters in diameter, shaped like
a giant cylinder, with engines on the rear and a Control Center in the slightly
curved bow.

“That’s a big
ship!” commented Lieutenant Mays, as she glanced at the viewscreen in awe.

“I’m detecting
energy screen emitters on the cargo ships,” reported Lieutenant Brooks in surprise.
“Earth and Newton cargo ships don’t have energy shields.”

“As big as
those ships are, I’d bet they’re armed also,” commented Andrew, looking at the
ship on the screen. “I’m sure the arms dealers on Kubitz wouldn’t want to risk
losing one. I would hate to think of the cost of them.”

“Captain Randson
is correct,” confirmed Lieutenant Brooks, as she studied additional sensor data.
“I’ve detected two powerful energy projectors on the bow of the ship, plus
twenty missile tubes that probably contain hypermissiles.”

“Rear Admiral
Wilson reports that a Controller named Nirron is on board the lead cargo ship
and requests a meeting with you at your earliest convenience,” said Ensign
Pierce.

“Inform Rear
Admiral Wilson that the
Star Cross
will be in orbit shortly. I’ll be
glad to meet Controller Nirron on Newton Station.”

“I wonder what
he wants,” Andrew said.

Kurt looked
over at Andrew and then replied, “I guess I’ll find out when I talk to him. Get
us into orbit at our best speed. I’m going to my quarters to send a few
messages and prepare for this meeting.”

-

Once in his
quarters, Kurt contacted Rear Admiral Wilson to get a better understanding of
what was happening in orbit.

“They arrived
three days ago,” Wilson explained. “The hypermissiles have already been
transferred to Newton Station, and Colonel Hayworth has been meeting with the
cargo fleet engineers about where the different units of the orbital defense
grid are to be placed. General Mclusky has also flown up to the station to
discuss the ground emplacements.”

“I see,” Kurt
said, his brow creasing in thought. “Have there been any problems?”

“No, none that
I’m aware of. Captain Simms does have a large Marine contingent on the station
to ensure security, but, so far, all the people from Kubitz have been quite
amicable. An individual called Lomatz keeps asking for a tour of Newton Station
and has been very quizzical about the weapons systems we’re installing.”

“Lomatz?”
responded Kurt in surprise. “He’s one of their chief weapons dealers, and the
one I made the deal with for both the defense grid and the warships. I wonder
what he’s doing here.”

“From what you
told me about conditions on Kubitz, he’s probably looking for something more to
sell us.”

“What about
the warships? Has anyone gone on board one?”

“Yes,” Wilson replied. “The engineers we sent to help on the interior design have taken a number
of people on tours of the ships. I haven’t gone myself, but Captain Deming of
the
Callisto
toured one of the battleships and one of the
battlecruisers. He was quite impressed by what he saw and didn’t foresee any
problems with us operating the vessels. I did speak to several of our engineers,
and they confirm the same thing.”

“Very well,”
Kurt said, satisfied with Rear Admiral Wilson’s report. “I need to speak with
Governor Spalding and Colonel Hayworth before I go to Newton Station for this
meeting.”

“I’d have
Hayworth attend the meeting also,” suggested Wilson. “He’s had the most contact
with these people since they arrived.”

“General
Mclusky also,” added Kurt. He had to get the defense grid up and functioning,
and then begin work on his new fleet.

After talking
briefly with Governor Spalding and Colonel Hayworth, finally turning off his
communicator, Kurt leaned back and sighed. He had hoped for a few days of rest
after returning, but that was not going to be the case.

-

Stepping from
his shuttle on Newton Station, Kurt found Captain Simms waiting for him with
two heavily armed Marines.

“Marines?”
asked Kurt curiously.

Simms nodded.
“We have a number of the Kubitz cargo ships’ technicians on board. We’ve been
allowing them to eat in the large mess hall on C-deck. The Marines are just to
ensure they don’t wander into unauthorized areas.”

As they made their
way toward the briefing room where the meeting would be held, Captain Simms
filled in Kurt on the Newton Station construction.

“The outer
hull is in place for the flight bay, and the
Callisto
has been returned to
duty,” Simms reported. “We have the energy shield emitters in place and have
even tested the shield. Everything worked perfectly.”

“What about
the particle beam cannons?”

“Coming
along,” Simms replied. “We finished one more while you were gone. A curious
thing, the cargo ship engineers have been very interested in our particle beam
weapons. Surely, as advanced as they supposedly are in the Gothan Empire, they
can build them if they want?”

“You would
think that,” Kurt answered, as they arrived at the hatch to the briefing room.

“I should warn
you,” Simms began, as Kurt opened the hatch. “Your pet Profiteer is in there
too.”

“What?” Kurt
asked, as he heard a loud gruff voice call out his name.

“Fleet Admiral
Vickers, you’re here!” Profiteer Grantz bellowed, standing up and walking quickly
over to the hatch to greet Kurt.

“Why are you
here?” Kurt demanded. Grantz was supposed to be helping Lieutenant Tenner on
Kubitz.

Grantz
gestured toward Lomatz, already sitting at the large conference table. “When I
heard Lomatz and some of his people were coming to your colony world, I thought
I should tag along to make sure they didn’t take advantage of you and your people.
I’m the best negotiator you have.”

Kurt nodded,
though he strongly suspected that Grantz was working some angle to get his
hands on more gold. “We’ll see,” he replied.

“Admiral
Vickers,” Lomatz said, as he rose and nodded toward Kurt. He gestured toward
the Controller next to him. “This is Controller Nirron.”

The Controller
nodded his head. In front of him were several paper documents and the normal
computer pad that all Controllers always carried with them.

“What can I do
for you?” asked Kurt, speaking to Lomatz. “I wasn’t aware that you would be
involved in delivering the defense grid.”

Lomatz smiled
widely. “After you left Kubitz, I got to thinking of other items that might interest
you. I’ve brought a few samples along on one of our cargo ships.”

“I’ll take a
look,” Kurt promised, as he walked over and took his seat. “How soon before we
can begin installation of the defense grid?”

“We have a
full Class Two defense system on board the cargo ships,” Lomatz said. “We can
begin installation tomorrow, if you so desire. On board the ships are sixteen
Class Two Orbital Defense Platforms, sixty-four satellites with dual-firing
energy turrets, a Class Two Command and Control Center, and eight Planetary Defense Centers with top-of-the-line direct-energy cannons that can hit anything
in orbit or shoot anything down that enters your colony’s atmosphere. With this
system you have complete space control of all that comes within forty thousand
kilometers of your planet’s atmosphere.”

“That’s a
little bit more than what I agreed to,” Kurt pointed out, cocking an eyebrow.
He wondered what Lomatz was up to.

“It seems you’ve
made some powerful enemies on Kubitz,” Lomatz responded calmly. “Both the
Profiteers from Marsten as well as the Dacroni are very displeased with you.
There is also the matter of the supposed rescue of a human woman from the Brollen
Pleasure House by your friend Grantz here with assistance from Avery Dolman.”

Kurt kept an
impassive look on his face, as he listened to Lomatz. He didn’t know if Lomatz
was speaking the truth or if this was just idle speculation.

“Considering
the enemies you’ve potentially made, I took it upon myself to bring the extra
units for the defense grid. I can promise you that, with this system in place,
your world will be 100 percent safe from attack.”

“How much?”
Kurt demanded with an icy stare.

“Forty-eight
million additional credits,” Lomatz replied with a smile. “Controller Nirron
has the new contract ready for you to sign.”

“If I agree to
this, how soon can you have the grid ready for full activation?”

“Five days,”
Lomatz answered promptly. “My people on the cargo ships are very good at what
they do. I also have two construction ships that can make any modifications
that might be needed.”

“How did you
finish the warships so quickly?”

“Ah, I was
hoping you would ask that,” Lomatz said with a pleased grin. “Since I knew you
would want a stronger defense grid, I assumed you would want the ships as
quickly as possible as well. I arranged for extra shifts and crews to hurry the
construction.”

“How much?”
asked Kurt, suspecting there was a price involved.

“Not that
bad,” Lomatz answered, his eyes meeting Kurt’s. “Only an additional twelve
million credits.”

Kurt groaned
softly to himself. This man was a scoundrel, but, thanks to his greed, he might
have solved several of Kurt’s pressing problems.

“Is there anything
else that we can do for you?”

“I noticed a
lot of work being done on this shipyard. Am I correct in assuming you’re
installing weapons systems and other crucial elements to help in this system’s
defense?”

“Yes,” answered
Kurt in an even voice, almost dreading what he knew would come next. “We’re
upgrading the station to better suit our needs.”

“My cargo ship
engineers can help complete this station,” offered Lomatz with a crafty gleam
in his eyes. “We can offer construction methods far in advance of what you’re currently
using, plus several advanced power systems. On the same cargo ship carrying the
samples that I wish to show you are additional defensive energy beam turrets,
long-range energy projectors, and ion cannons. I’m willing to place my
engineers under your command and provide whatever assistance you may need to complete
this shipyard.”

“Careful,” cautioned
Grantz, gazing angrily at Lomatz. “He wants all your gold.”

“What would it
cost to complete the shipyard as you suggested?” asked Kurt.

“Twenty-two
million credits?”

“Twenty-two
million credits,” roared Grantz, standing up and glaring at Lomatz. “What’s the
entire cost of what you’re offering?”

“Eighty-two
million,” answered Lomatz. “That includes the overtime for finishing the ships,
the extra units for the defense grid, and completing this shipyard.”

“Sixty,”
roared Grantz.

“Eighty,”
countered Lomatz.

“Seventy-five
and not a credit more,” snarled Grantz.

“Seventy-eight
and we have a deal,” Lomatz responded.

“Done,” said
Grantz, nodding his head in agreement.

“Wait a minute,”
interrupted Kurt, shaking his head. “I’ll decide if we have an agreement or
not.”

“Seventy-eight
million and, when my ships leave here, this system will never have to fear the
Profiteers or anyone else from the Gothan Empire bothering you again,” promised
Lomatz. “I’ll spread the word that your system is so heavily defended that it
would be tantamount to suicide to attack it.”

Kurt looked
over at Controller Nirron, who had remained silent during this entire exchange.
“Will he do as he says?”

“Yes,” Nirron
answered passively. “It will be entered into the contract.”

With a deep
sigh of resignation, Kurt turned back toward Lomatz. “Agreed.”