Imminent Destruction

Admiral Norima sent personal communications to the Mercenaries, begging them to protect the Dorian’s flank, but never received any response; he finally walked away from the communications panel in disgust.

“Fifteen minutes of wasted effort. We’ve been stabbed in the back.”

“Enemy cruisers approaching at eight thousand kilometers.”

“Bring out the main gun! Full fire circle maneuver.”

“That maneuver will over heat the gun’s power generator,” Vice Admiral Fortali said, “If we must use the heavy weapons, we should use the beam cannons in combination with brief bursts of the neutralizer.”

“No, we need to destroy the fighters first. I’m launching a mere feint into the enemy fleet; our main goal is to take down these enemy fighter swarms.”

The main gun emerged from its compartment, shielded by a high potency electron field with a blue glow. The huge stubby cannon rotated on a tilting base extending only a few meters from the top of the Dorian. Its beam was a spotlight that disintegrated everything within its glare, but the great majority of the Buldethian fighters took refuge beneath the underside of the Dorian itself, the cannon’s only permanent blind spot.

“Full shielding over the lower quadrant,” Fortali said, “This is useless, withdraw the neutralizer. It wasn’t designed for close range.”

“Turn the gun, full swing, now!” Norima ordered, yelling over Fortali.

At close range, the dark angels were faster than the neutralization ray’s swing. The cannon’s backside received a hail of missile fire, causing the shield system to go colorless on the monitors. Pieces of armor flew from the cannon’s outer casing. The crimping support structure glowed red from friction as the stabilization system failed. The cannon collapsed atop its rotation post, yet continued firing a stationary beam to the left.

Fortali stood, her eyes remained closed as she yelled, “Don’t be foolish Igito. The neutralization cannon’s core temperature is two thousand degrees, if this nonsense continues the gun will self-detonate. We can’t continue firing, we need to withdraw it now!”

“But it’s our only hope,” said Norima, issuing orders from the computer panel on the arm of his seat. “Advance into the enemy fleet, get as close as possible.”

“It’s too late for a suicide strike! They’re too far away. We’ll die in vain!”

“Rotate the cannon. They’re avoiding it. Rotate the neutralization rays faster!”

“The stabilizer’s crushed!” Fortali yelled almost in the admiral’s ear, “It can’t move!”

“Get me Green!”

“There’s nothing he can do,” Fortali whispered pleadingly, “We don’t have time to argue Admiral. We must withdraw the gun. Suicide isn’t an option. We can still retreat to Sol under the cover of our remaining support units.”

Norima became pale, “We don’t have any damned support units!”

The last remaining fighters on the Dorian were sent to protect the ailing neutralization gun, five Karvars. They proved to be only a brief distraction, but by the time they had been cleared the Dorian had stopped stationary firing and began retracting the gun. Anti-fighter lasers previously held in reserve provided further cover, but they were destroyed one by one, without a single hit against the enemy.

Admiral Norima pounded his fist.

“You have no authority to countermand my orders, and no right to tamper with my console! Why did you do that?”

“You were being unreasonable, sir,” she said calmly, “The neutralization ray has become pointless and would have destroyed us all. The rest of the crew understands perfectly well.”

She stared relentlessly into his eyes.

Admiral Norima rose from his seat, “I’m going back to my quarters. From this point on Vice Admiral Vanessa Fortali is in charge of all operations. Apparently, I need some rest.”

The crew watched as their admiral abandoned the control room. Vice Admiral Fortali stood and saluted him, everyone else followed. Then they returned to work. Rear Admiral Tennyson blinked, awe stricken.

“He can’t find it in himself to issue the order to retreat. He’s never had to do such a thing in his entire career.”

“Retreat, full speed,” Vice Admiral Fortali commanded, “All power to engines. Full thrust at negative ten thousand kilometers. Maintain a straight path. We’re going to initiate a jump sequence from the nearest WSA.”

“This is bad. They just keep biting away like a swarm of fleas,” Tennyson said, “The laser defense systems are totaled. I have nothing left to fight them with. At least let us divert some more energy for the shields.”

“There’s not enough power, we’ll have to make the jump without them.”

The Dorian descended at full speed, but the enemy fighters matched its velocity. Buldethian cruisers raced to meet it now that the main gun no longer threatened them. The Red Wasps continued to engage it, launching everything in their arsenal. Holes tore through the Dorian’s hull from enemy cannon fire. Portions of the great imperial mother ship became engulfed in flames. The Hulk, Kshatriya, and Garter pushed backwards, not bothering to interfere with either side. The Werner kept to the right flank, then turned toward the Dorian.

Fortali enacted evacuation protocol blue, “Rear Admiral, contact Major Green, tell him to be prepared for escape protocol red in case of subspace drive failure.”

Three cargo vessels ejected from the Dorian’s transport bay. Two communication pods left her fighter bays along with an ambulance transport. The cargo transports of the imperial fleet proved surprisingly strong. They engaged the dark angels, destroying an entire squadron in order to clear the area of the special anomaly.

“Lieutenant Soel’s company is reporting full success in capturing the Neimun,” said the communications officer, a cheer rose through the otherwise dismal control room.

“Advise him to use the Neimun’s jump capacity evasively, otherwise they’ll destroy him,” Vice Admiral Fortali commanded.

“Yes, mam!”

“Sub space systems activating,” yelled Rear Admiral Tennyson. “We’re going to make it! We’re Going to Make It!”

A nervous voice came from the radar panel, the officer wiped his forehead before speaking.

“The Werner. It’s- It’s on a full speed collision course. It’s targeting us! I think it intends to ram!”

“Keep moving, full power. Get in contact with the Werner. Tell it to pull back,” said the Vice Admiral, resisting an urge to pull out her hair.

The communications officer almost swallowed his throat, “The Werner has responded. We’re supposed to rot in hell.”

“Not a chance! Pump what energy we have left into the neutralizer, as much as we can muster. I’ve got one last trick up my sleeve.”

The Dorian was already in warp anomalous mode, and its silver hull had already changed into a dull red as the Werner hit. The Dorian’s left engine exploded. A series of blasts traveled down its hull, destroying sensors, communications, navigation, and weapons turrets. Everything on the left hemisphere broke apart. Shock waves blew fighters into the anomalous space. The neutralizer’s compartment blew upwards from its shredded armor case like a popping wine cork. What remained of the Dorian pulled itself into anomalous space.

As the anomalous node closed, the Dorian’s jettisoned neutralizer cannon glowed brilliant white before exploding into an expanding neutralization sphere. The remains of the Dorian in that sector were the first to disintegrate. The remains of the Werner went next, followed by the formations of dark angels and red wasps that had been pecking the Dorian for over an hour. Buldethian cruisers raced to get away from the blast. The remaining mercenary cruisers engaged their emergency anomalous space drives to escape to random points in space.

Three cannon spheres disintegrated at the edge of the blast, but the rest of the large vessels remained unharmed. At battles end, fifteen Buldethian cruisers; including the ten disc-carriers, and the Armageddon itself still survived. Lacking any substantial fighter escort, they returned to the nearest special anomalies to jump out. The captured Neimun remained left behind by its fleet.

The lights in the Dorian’s control room flickered, then turned a deep red. Sirens sounded, the radar screen blanked, then everything went quiet.

“Did we make the jump? Are we dead?” Rear Admiral Tennyson asked.

“I’m receiving video communications, sir.”

“Put them through the front screen if it’s still operational.” Vice Admiral Fortali said.

An Imperial police trooper, distinguished by the light blue uniform with purple stripes traveling diagonally from the edge of the shoulder, appeared.

“Help is on the way, Admiral.”

“Where are we? And in what condition is the Dorian?”

“You’re in the Jovian region of the Sol system. The Dorian looks really bad, not much left of it. But at least you’re still alive in there. That’s all that matters right now. I take it we didn’t win?”

Vice Admiral Fortali suffered a defeated laugh before she collapsed over her console.

-----

Dim lights illuminated the policy table. A glass pitcher of cold clear water passed between aged hands. The blinds opened slightly, allowing the red reflection of Ranack’s sands to peer inside. Judge Hammon repositioned himself in his seat while pulling at the collar of his black robe. Supreme Judge Morrison entered from the back and strode to his position at the head of the table.

“Everyone, I assume, has been informed about the disaster in the Hacetion sector. We’ve lost eleven cruisers. Our entire fighter escort, gone. Worst of all, an Imperial Space Infantry force has captured the Neimun. This ensures that the Spirit Guild will get wind of our designs.”

Morrison punched the table so hard the glasses of water bounced.

“What now!? I’m debating whether the Neimun is worth recovering immediately, or if the crystal we know of already is more important. That mercenary is currently guarding the Neimun. He’s destroyed the escort and five additional cruisers, and we have no ability to determine the condition of his vessel. Sending more cruisers might prove too costly.”

“We should take Hakkut and repair the remaining fleet,” Judge Gebrel said, “We can replace the fighter losses in a few months. Then we can work from there.”

“The Dorian is rumored destroyed,” Judge Hammon said, “We should have no problem dealing with the remaining five strongholds of the empire. They don’t have the industrial capacity to build cruisers fast enough to counter us.”

Judge Georgeson browsed through a palm sized holographic map

“This is bad. But not a total loss. We hold the Armageddon and five capable cruisers in the main fleet, plus four additional cruisers in the garrison fleets. The fighter shortage is unfortunate, but a third of that can be replaced in a matter of months if we draw from the garrison fleets under the least threat. As for transports, logistical vessels, salvage ships, minesweepers, and other supporting ships of various designs; we haven’t lost a single one. Our ten carriers designed for planetary assault bridgehead operations remain unscathed as well, I’m sure they’ll make themselves useful in the search for the Hakkut crystal. None of the fifty thousand assault troops slated to invade Hakkut have been harmed. If we make haste to the planet, we won’t lose the initiative.”

“What about the invasion of Sol?” Gebrel asked, “We’ve planned it for over a decade.”

“It’ll have to be postponed for a short time,” Judge Morrison said, “But that’s all I’ll allow. I’m sure the Neimun will be stationed there next, so we’ll have to move quickly before it’s out of our reach.”

“I am confident in our fleet, Supreme Judge,” Judge Hammon said, “The Imperial Military is nearing the brink of collapse.”

The Supreme Judge didn’t look convinced, “The Spirit Guild will align with the Empire if it discovers our secret, and we’ll lack the time to destroy this alliance even through the sheer force of our will. Even without knowing, I’m sure they realize their huge stake in maintaining the political structure that ensures their power. Our best hope for dissension is to lead them into attempting a coup, but it must be unsuccessful.”

“We must strike quickly into the Jovian region,” Judge Hammon said. “The odds of failure increase every month we wait. The WSAs accessing the Sol system are near points that provide defenders with near limitless energy. If the defenses are rebuilt, expanded, and fine-tuned taking the system will prove prohibitively costly.”

“My primary worry is Hakkut,” said the Supreme Judge, “If we don’t get that crystal, somebody’s head will roll. We should take it and establish a base as soon as possible. If the imperial commander of the captured Neimun figures out the code, he’ll be looking for our crystal as well.”

“Maybe he’ll be too greedy to report his findings,” Judge Gebrel suggested.

“You take this too lightly. I shudder to think that an agent of the Spirit Guild, or even the Harn Empire may soon possess our crystal. The Neimun is the only crystal beacon that can be constructed, and we don’t have the ability to rebuild it. I certainly won’t allow it to be destroyed. And if it is deconstructed by the enemy there will be hell to pay.”

“Now, now.” Judge Georgeson said. “We can let the enemy find the crystals for us. Then take them before they discover how to utilize their power. We have the most capable commandos in the universe.”

“What about Defacto,” Judge Hammon asked, “The bounty on his head hasn’t worked. Maybe we should try something more sinister. We have that former Spirit Guild assassin at our disposal. Let’s make use of him.”

“Far too risky,” Judge Gebrel complained, sweating, “He was affiliated with the Spirit Guild, he might discover something.”

“I don’t think so,” Supreme Judge Morrison said, “The assassin hates the guild for what they’ve done to him. Mercenary Defacto is a part of that past, and we can utilize him without giving him the details.”

“It’s a good thing the others were nothing like this Defacto,” Judge Gebrel said, “Thanks to my work, they have committed treason. Defacto won’t have the independent corp. to hide behind much longer. He’ll be dead soon. I deserve credit for at least that much.”

“Yet that one man proved most injurious to our plans,” said the Supreme Judge.

“He has many powerful enemies though,“ Gebrel said. “If only we could take the Imminent Destruction out of the equation; then he’ll wither away like a pile of ashes in a gale. We’d need not lift a finger to ensure his demise.”

Hammon smirked, “I’m taking care of the mercenary. I suspect he’s strong, but our assassin is unbeatable.”

“Good,” Supreme Judge Morrison said, “He must be destroyed, if only as a warning to others who would oppose us.”