First journey chapter 40

Chapter: 40 Distant but relevant Events, Several weeks before Eric and cadets departed for their first mission. Deep space, minus 270 degrees Celsius, the stars were sparsely seeded in this region of space. All the suns were generally ancient stars. This near-vacuum had not been disturbed since the beginning of this universe. An observer would have seen the sudden glimmering disturbance, and then it was there! No light reflected off an object in this forgotten place in time, but this shimmering gray thing with bright light behind tiny spaceports brought its own light. It was shaped like a wedge, and on its wide end, it had four significant box-like extensions. If that observer could read, it would see the bold lettering on its side: USS Ivanhoe. Right next to the name a blue field with red and white horizontal stripes forming the logo of the United Stars of the galaxy. The beautiful sleek looking visitor to this place in time and space paused for a moment. Sensor beams whispered and reached out from the object, tasting, sensing, probing, and classifying. Collecting vast amounts of data, then it accelerated again, stretching as if elastic for a fraction of a nanosecond and then it was gone. Captain Flowar Saxa brushed his hand over his pale blue bald head as he always did when everything seemed alright and nothing was out of the ordinary. Yet, somewhere deep inside, he had the feeling there was something the sensors had not picked up or somehow overlooked. Something out there which might pose a potential danger to his crew and ship. Saxa was a Plato, and one of a handful of this species living as free beings within the Union. He was so far the first and only Plato captain of a union spacecraft. To the Kermac, the Plato were the lowest class of slaves, only good for the most primitive labor. No Plato knew from where they originated. The Kermac reproduced them in factory-like breeding facilities, there where billions of Plato serving on virtually every Galactic Council planet, ship and installation. The Kermac sold them like a commodity to other species as laborers and cheap workers. Plato Nan Taakzte meant lowest useful life form in Kermac. Platos were strong and sturdy and had legendary endurance, needed little sleep, and could tolerate temperatures on both ends of the scale. Beyond the range, most other humanoid life forms could not endure. He had been sold as Slave merchandise when he was still young barely more the four cycles old, but that slave trader made a mistake. He tried a short cut through union space and was caught. Adopted by gentle far-seeing Terrans, he grew up free and well educated and became a Union citizen. Ever since he reached his majority, he had only one goal in life, repay this glorious nation with his unwavering dedicated service. He knew that the Kermac reign was steadily declining and the day of freedom for his brethren and educate them about how incredible freedom and liberty was no longer a distant fantasy. He hoped the end of Kermac domination of his species would happen in his lifetime. His ship was based on the same hull as the Galantor Class Super Cruiser. 1400 meters long, 400 meters wide and 600 meters deep at its base tapering to a chisel bow of only 20 meters. It was not as heavily armed as a Galantor Class but had the same armor and shielding, and his ship had an enhanced endurance and superior rang. It also was equipped with a broader array of sensors and had a much larger science department. He and his ship's crew primary mission was in-depth space exploration. The Ivanhoe and other ships like her were seeking to expand the Unions knowledge about this vast unexplored sector of the M-0 galaxy. And the Ivanhoe would be the first ship to reach the Palomar 12 globular cluster 64,000 light-years away from the Galactic rim, no Union ship had ever ventured this far into the unknown space of the Coreward sector. He got up from his command chair and walked over to the OPS station and asked the Klack Lieutenant." Nn'tik anything on the boards?" The Klack was a reliable, dependable officer and he would, of course, report anything anyway, but Saxa could not shake this feeling. "No Sir, all boards show green and I have nothing on the scanners. We are almost done with the deployment of Sensor Relay buoy 27." The Ivanhoe had placed 26 SRB's since they left Union space. Each of these sophisticated robotic devices would not only allow them to be in zero-delay communication with Fleet Command but provide an area-wide data collector with automated sensors, allowing both his crew and analysts back home to maintain real-time surveillance of the quadrants they had already passed through on this first of its kind exposition. Officially their mission was the same as all the thousands of explorer ship, to expand the knowledge horizon and to make contact with other civilizations and was part of the Galactic Survey project. Unofficially it was to seek ancient relics of a highly technic race that disappeared eons ago. The goal of this project was to survey the M-0 galaxy thoroughly. The projected completion of this project was in 13,200. His XO, a Pan Saran complete with polished brass chest armor, knew his captain well and said. "Maybe we should take a longer break here and send out two P5-Specters to recon the space ahead. It is the last star system on our course and from what it looks like it has planets and two are in the green zone." "Yes, Marcus, an excellent idea and while you at it sound alert condition yellow." No one on the bridge questioned his decision to raise alert conditions to elevated status despite the fact nothing seemed to warrant it. Many of them served with Captain Saxa for more than five years and more than regular combat units, explorers were often long ways from known space and regular base visits and that usually bonded crews like tight-knit families. The team was not nervous or concerned, but they knew if Saxa's guts acted up, there often was a reason and they trusted their captain's feelings more than the best sensors. His Chief Science officer, a Wurgus and one of the few not being a solar or planet engineer, waved his captain over. "Sir, I went over the sensor recordings with a Terran fine-tooth comb, and I did find faint traces of exotic Hadron particles, all in a linear pattern towards that Star system ahead. Now these patterns are decaying, and they are at least a month or so old, but Hadron particle spurs are often associated with Kermac T- engines, their equivalent to our Isah Drive." "I was just thinking about these bald-headed bastards. Hail the Specters and tell them to be extra careful and high tail out of there as fast possible if they think there is a danger." Marcus, the XO, sat down. "That system would be almost 60,000 light-years from Kermac Prime. Could not another species use a similar propulsion system?" The Wurgus rotated his onion-shaped eyes. "Of course, Dai Than, for example, uses similar engines, but it's the dispersion pattern that made me think of the Kermac first." Olnatar of the Siucra Olnatar was a Siucra. His kind was the latest successor of the oldest and the very first thrall species of the Kermac. When the Kermac left so long ago, they gave the Thralls one task only, protect Koken. Koken meant origin in the old Kerma language. This was the holy planet of the worshiped masters. Olnatar had never set foot on Koken; he would never dare to defile such a holy place with his unworthy presence. No Kermac had been seen in 453 cycles, but he had been blessed beyond belief as he was allowed to see four Kermac ships pass in the far distance and his ships received the holy codes. He was certain his scanner and sensor data was altered by the Kermac Gods on purpose, how else could it be explained that the worshipped Masters traveled on ships that did not appear all that sophisticated? According to the legends of the long-vanished first servants, the Masters had left Koken a very long time ago, and their real technology must have been beyond the grasp of comprehension. This is why they fooled the sensors of lesser beings to appear traveling in ships appearing to be barely more sophisticated than the Siucra. Olnatar understood why the Kermac left their home planet, through the songs and passage of the holy text. The Spirit of the Universe itself called its most precious children to a better place. The Siucra never revealed themselves to the Kermac. The Worshipful Masters would contact them if there were something they wanted. It was not proper for a servant to address his master without being asked to do so. His species was the latest to take on the mantle of protectors of Koken. A task they inherited from the incompetent Mataneei. The Mataneei succumbed to the Siucra and perished. The Kermac affected fate and fortunes of reality itself to guarantee Siucra victories, for no other species, was worthy of such a holy command. The Siucra showed their unwavering adherence to this task ever since It was not just a task, but the very core of Siucra existence and culture. The Siucra guarded this region of space with unwavering zeal and sterilized it of other life that could potentially insult the Kermac by their presence. Only recently, the peaceful Tinkehel ascending on their own proudly flying their first deep-space mission were crushed by the Siucra. Olnatar was one of the ship leaders that orbital bombed the Tinkehel world; they dared to be on a direct course to Koken. The Siucra commander hung from his gripping tail in a relaxed position, when the alarm gas flooded his quarters with the scent of potential danger. The system raised the bar he was hanging on through a short pipe and transported him directly into the command cave. One of his subordinates waved his clawed legs at him in the prescribed gesture of obedience. "Initiator, a space ship of unknown origin, has just appeared at the very horizon of our space feelers. It is so big, our mass detector operator thought it was a very fast wanderer of some sort, but it emits energies and has slowed down. Therefore it must be a ship. Not even the Y'All had something that big!" "Send a message to the combined force and alert every combat unit! We will not fail in our holy task!" Olnatar made the hanging bar rotate twenty-five degrees and faced another of his crew. "You who interpret knowledge. What do you make of this new information?" Uncomt was the academic advisor and the smallest of the eight Siucra hanging in a circular pattern around the central Command bar. His leathery skin betrayed his ancient age, the training for his assigned task took much longer to complete than any of the other members of the circle. He studied the visualizer with one eye and with the other his commander. "Facilitator, we do not have enough feeler knowledge to make a precise evaluation, but it is an artificial construct. Not a hollowed-out asteroid generation ship like the Magulon used, like the one we destroyed seventy cycles ago. It appears to have a dense metal alloy that deflects or inhibits most of our feeler rays. Only it's space mass displacement, and external energy can be measured. It is... " The Knowledge interpreter stopped speaking and almost fell off his tail bar, recovered and croaked." Whoever they are they know we are here. We were just hit with the energy equal to seventy-seven feeler rays. I will conclude it is a very advanced species." USS IVANHOE The Pan Saran XO shook his head. "I don't know how you do it, Sir, but your gut is better than our sensors, especially since you have no known psionic talents." Both the Plato and the Pan Saran stood before the main viewer and looked at the close up visual scanner image of the foreign vessel. Both P5-Specter recon craft were under an adaptive cloak, and both pilots reported that the ship of unknown origin had not scanned or detected them yet. The science officer, a pretty Saresii true woman, came over, a small data ball projection floating next to her. "It looks like Tech level seven. Sir, Six hundred meters bow to stern, a crew of 900 carbon-based life forms. Neuro patterns not on file. Technology is somewhat similar to Kermac but distinctively different. No Trans Dim or Para Dim Tech detected, but they do use a neat Quasi Space Communication system that I would like to analyze more closely. It looks like the most sophisticated Comm technology we ever encountered, that is not Union tech." The Tactical officer, a human, reported without turning from his readouts. The unknown vessel has indeed detected us and raised shields and activated weapons. That alien ship has some serious firepower. I am sensing twelve FTL Line cannons and one armament that does not register in our database, and I might say I have never seen anything similar. It does not relate to any of the other techs o-board. It is clearly of a higher-tech level than the rest." The captain returned to his seat. "Comm, inform Fleet command about this new contact. Science I want you to work on the scanner data of that strange weapon. Dedicate a Com channel to Arsenal II and work with the Xeno Techs there. Tactical they raised shields, so we do the same. Standby all weapons, but don't deploy the external turrets as of yet." The crew responded like a well-maintained piece of machinery. The Plato always felt pride at moments like this in have command of such an elite team. "Sir I am detecting more than 400 enemy contacts coming in fast centering on our location. All of the same configuration as the first enemy contact. They all have their weapons and shields active." "We are here to establish contact. Begin standard first Contact procedures and hail them!" The Computronic started to transmit the most basic binary code sequences on all known channels, and after contact was established on one of them, more complicated mathematical problems were exchanged. From there, the Computronic send an authentic expression of essential language references. It turned out the Aliens spoke a form of Kerm, and with Kermac dialects on file, it took little time to establish two-way communications. Olnatar was impressed by the size of the alien ship, but now that most of the fleet was on its way, even it could be rendered to scrap. They had encountered technologically more advanced species before, but none of them could withstand the Holy fire they inherited from the Matanee. The Ones worthy of worship have left behind a considerable cache of these weapons. Over the millennia the Siucra had learned how to install them in their ships. While they still knew little about the principle behind the technology of the devices. No enemy had ever been encountered that could withstand it. "The intruder into prohibited space is attempting to plead for mercy, Great Initiator." His Distance Speaker said. "Let me see the faces, and if they leave their ship with us, we shall be merciful." The visualizer blinked and what he saw made his nostril curl a being stared at him, standing like a lord in black clothing. He did not crawl on the floor as it should have and wore the offensive shade! "How dare you stand! This space has been once graced by the very presence of the most exalted Kermac!  How dare you be clothed! How dare you wear black the unholy shade!  Anyone begging for mercy must crawl and be naked! You will hand over that ship now! Then submit so you can be exterminated for your insolence!" "I am Captain Flowar Saxa of the USS Ivanhoe, and we are of the United Stars of the Galaxy. We are on a peaceful mission of exploration. Am I to understand you are a Galactic Council species?" "Now, you speak and without my permission and you are still standing! You will die now!" He made the sign and his Weapons operator placed both his feet on the firing contact plates." The Holy fire weapon rocked the ship and drained power! Captain Saxa almost fell, the Ivanhoe rocked hard, but the Ships Computronic reacted faster than any living being could and used a tractor field to pull him back into the Command Chair and the safety restrains snaked around him. "Shields down to 30 percent. Forward shield generator damaged. Secondary system online! Light casualties on deck nine." The XO barked. "Reverse engines! Go to heading 45.34.12. Weapons authorized! Return Fire! Launch both Loki tubes at these Kermac worshiping bastards!" The Ivanhoe shuddered again. A second enemy ship had taken them under fire from a distance beyond their Translocator cannon range. "Primary shields down. Secondary shields are buckling. We have hull damage starboard aft. Damage control procedures in progress!" SIUCRA Olnatar could not believe his eyes. The other ship was still there, although it substantiated hit by two charges of Holy fire Cannons. As if hit by an enormous hammer, his ship rocked and shook. Sparks from overloading circuits showered from visualizers and he could smell the putrid smell of fire! "Energy Buffer Bubbles were unable to deflect enemy smart weapon effect. Heavy damage to engine and hull." "We will not fail!" He screamed. "Unleash the Holy Fire!" "The weapon is at twenty percent at best!" stated the weapons officer, we must wait until at least fifty percent. Olnatar slashed his claw across the face of the Weapons operator hanging to his left." Unleash it now!" He then activated his personal Escape pod and said to the command crew. "You will fight to the last while I organize the battle from another ship." USS IVANHOE "Secondary Shields down, Sir! Twelve percent of Hull damage, FTL Drive damage! ISAH field symmetry is no longer certain. Reaching the FTL threshold no longer safe or advisable." Saxa turned. "Did you send our distress call? Is the Log Drone on its way?" "As Ordered, Sir! The drone is away, and we have contact to Fleet Command. The closest help is twelve weeks out." He said to his XO. "Pack as much crew as you can in our auxiliary craft and fly as far as you on the way back home. Stay on the relay buoy route!" The commander reacted and did as he was told. "Saxa slaved the controls of the stations and fired the Translocator canon. One of the attacking ships now within range exploded almost instantly as a five kiloton TL bomb at the point of detonation rematerialized in its engine room. He dispatched another Loki and destroyed the already severely damaged craft that first attack. The Ivanhoe's FTL Directed Energy projectors opened up on a third ship, but at the same time was hit by three more discharges of these powerful alien weapons. The Ivanhoe had enough FTL auxiliary craft for everyone. The XO called him." It's time to go, captain! All Aux Craft but one is gone." "I gave you an order Mister. I stay with my ship and risk to go TL! The Ivanhoe is not done yet. I got plenty of energy. Now go!" "Aye Sir and good luck! The Ninth Fleet is on its way!" The Ivanhoe got hit again, but all repair robot resources already stretched to the limit. He cut Life support to all decks except the bridge and pushed the accelerator. The Computronic warned that the Isah Field was not symmetric. An absolute necessity to safely pass across the FTL threshold into Quasi space, asymmetry meant chaos condition not predictable. He risked it anyway. The Ivanhoe, with over fifty percent of hull damage, vanished from this reality in a bright white flash. Neither pilot of the still cloaked P5's had ever seen such a massive flare when a ship went into Quasi Space. One of the pilots, an Ult, wished he had tears, he certainly felt like crying as he witnessed the death of his beloved captain. Olnatar had been celebrated as a hero, as the one who defeated an enormous alien ship. He told the story over many times almost to exhaustion. He was promoted to the position of Grand Initiator of the Fleet and given command of a brand new ship. He was leading the largest fleet ever assembled and commanded by a single Siucra back in the direction where the boats and little ships of the Plato went, those which survived the destruction of the big craft. They had left a trace of small sophisticated robotic devices behind marking their way. These robotic devices would self destruct before one could be secured, He was not sure what the purpose of these things were, but he was certain they would lead them to a planet or perhaps several planets filled with offensive lifeforms daring to wear the obnoxious shade and advance into holy space. His mission was simple, sterilize those worlds and secure one or maybe two of these big vessels for closer study. It would be to the glory of the Masters to destroy and eradicate them. He commanded over one thousand ships all equipped with Holy Fire casters. IVANHOE CREW The crew of the USS Ivanhoe in their small fleet of twelve D 20 shuttles, 8 P5-Specter and two science scallops had traveled back towards Union space as far as their engines allowed. Even the specters could make it 200 more light-years; Commander Marcus Rullus made the decision to have the little craft stay together. Only the Specters, based on the Wolfcraft fighter, were armed. Every ship was overflowing with the survivors. But the D-20 shuttles were small holding only 10 or so passengers and the Specters were single being fighter craft. Therefore, most of the six hundred beings of the Ivanhoe crew were on the two multi-role scallops. The Ivanhoe had been equipped with escape pods, but launching pods with such a hateful enemy nearby was most likely suicide. The scallops were slow and did not have a sufficiently long-range capability. The life support systems strained almost beyond their limits. Rullus was not sure how long they would last, as they were still over six thousand light-years from the outer fringes of Klack space and the nearest Union OutPost. The ninth fleet was on its way and thanks to the relay chain they were in direct contact with fleet command. However, they were able to look into the other direction as well. They could access the Buoy scanner and sensor data and saw the enormous alien fleet approaching, two buoys had already been lost. Even though they had virtually no space to move, some of the scientists worked analyzing scanner results, language patterns, and weapon and tech specs. A hail came in on Union Com. "This is the personal honor guard of her Majesty the Queen. Her Majesty and sovereign ruler of the Klack Hegemony ordered us dispatched and come to the help of our brothers and friends in distress. We are well ahead of the Ninth Fleet and should arrive within two hours. " Nn'tik, the former OPS officer of the Ivanhoe, made an up and down pumping motion with his upper right arm in very human expression of an emotion. "Yes!" Someone padded the chitin back of the Klack and said, "Let's hope they brought enough ships! Those aliens will be here in approximately ninety minutes." Nn'tik had a hard time turning in the crowded confines. "My friend, the honor guard has only one ship. All other armed Klack ships are under Union Fleet command." "We should warn them! One ship won't be enough." "The Klack put his Antenna gently on the face of the human officer, "What is the largest Space ship, my friend?" "The Devi, of course!" "No, my friend. The Devi is the largest ship in the fleet capable of landing on a planet. The Bison Fleet tenders are technically space ships and are bigger than the Devi, the long freight tugs making it across the bridge with freight too large for the trains, are often 100 kilometers long and more, but soon you will see something few non-Klack have ever seen." He then said. "However I too would rather see the Immortal warrior appear along with the Devi and the First Fleet and tear these upsides down hanging Kermac thralls a new one!" "You sound more human every day, Nn'tik." A Purple throat Shiss wedged in between other crew members observed, while two small furry Holdian were sitting on his broad shoulders avoiding being trampled or crushed. "There is no need to insult me, Old enemy! I am as Klack as can be!" Everyone knew that the two were the best of friends and Nn'tik was playing on the fact that the Shiss and the Klack had been enemies for millennia. Nn'tik was of course, not offended but very happy that the racial distinctions and habits slowly eroded and the massive collection of different civilizations gradually but inevitably became one new civilization. --***-- SIUCRA Olnatar heard his space feeler operator tell him they located the small fleet of little boats that had escaped from the doomed Plato ship. They didn't get too far! Nearby and either entirely out of fuel or with burned-out FTL drives stranded in the middle of deep space. It would hardly take one ship to destroy them. But he came that far with a thousand ships. The disgusting life forms must have their colony somewhere out here. They were moving towards the more star populated space of this sector of the galaxy. "Grand Initiator. We are receiving a long-distance speech request." "As much as it disgusts me to see and talk to these creatures, I will give them a chance to tell us the location of their homeworld." A different being this one apparently with insectoid features appeared on the visualizer. "I am N'Vaant, First of the Guard of the N' Toothal. I have come by the command of Queen N'thannskknta the 674th most sovereign and sole ruler of the Klack Hegemony. I am hailing you, unknown aggressors! Let it be known to you. Our Queen, with her great wisdom, has declared this space to be Klack. Therefore, Union space, you are to turn around and return to wherever you came from. We are Klack, and we shall not fail in protecting our brothers and friends." "Empty threats from a being that is no more than a vermin, you will be exterminated. You may report to your Queen that we will exterminate anyone harboring slaves or dares to approach sacred space! Go run and tell that Queen of parasites to beg for mercy so we will be amused." "We will be soon in the range of your limited scanners. You cannot insult us as we know who we are. I have delivered my official message and now let me give you a personal piece of advice. "You destroyed a Union ship, and you killed Terrans, that makes them very angry. There is a fleet of Union ships on its way, and you may seek doom fighting us, or turn tail and flee, it is you who should beg for forgiveness and offer pertinence. It is not just those few ships of yours, but your race that is in deadly peril. This was a friendly warning. Make your decisions either way. The time for talk ends now." Olnatar was furious that this insect would cut off communications before he could spew a few more insults, but the insect would soon hail again to beg for mercy, which of course, he would not render." The first forward units of the Siucra fleet was almost in firing range, but then their space feelers detected something that could not be possible. A moon-sized object, almost overloaded the feeler circuits had just dropped into scanner range and standard space. It was not a moon! It was artificial. A sphere of 4200 nuthum diameter. Not much smaller than the homeworld moon of the Siucra, and it moved! Survivors of the Ivanhoe "Good Lord!" Someone whispered in the crowded Scallop. "What is this? Nn'tik said proudly."Behold the last of the Battle Moons of the Klack Hegemony, once we had 50 of these, but that was almost 12,000 years ago. We lost many in the first Y'All war and more during Red Night, the darkest years of Klack history. Klack lost the knowledge and the ability to build new ones. One is in a permanent orbit and no longer able to maneuver, but this one is currently being refurbished in a secret project by Union Fleet engineers. It has not been completed, and will take many years to finish if my information is correct." Marcus snapped."We will honor the Klack and this impressive ship later, Nn'tik. Hail them so we can get inside. Communication to all Auxiliary craft of the Ivanhoe, you are to approach that Behemoth and see if they let us in!" "Already receiving hangar guide beams Sir! That hangar just opening would have room for the Devi!" "I think I am going to kiss you, Nn'tik!" Marcus said and then added. "And I promise to be on Klackt to honor you Queen on her next birthday!" SIUCRA It took the Siucra a few moments to digest what they saw, but one of them released a bolt of Holy Fire and the bolt penetrated the shields of the colossal ship and burned a comparably small but visible hole into the enormous ship's armor!" Olnatar screamed in delight."Big it is, yes. But no match for Holy Fire! It will just make a bigger explosion when it goes! All Ships close in and fire!" N'Vaant was well aware of the limitations of his colossal ship. The N' Toothal was very old, and Union Ultronit had only replaced thirty percent of her armor of steel. The shields were original Klack, and since the ship was considered a private vessel, not a Fleet unit. It had not received modern military-grade weapons. He simply hoped he could buy enough time for the crew of the Ivanhoe until the 9th fleet arrived. The good thing was that the N'toothal had only a team of one hundred Klack and the simple Steel armor was almost 100 meters thick. He had received the Intel reports of the fleet and the analysts on Arsenal II were certain the cannons used by these aggressive aliens were of a much higher Tech level than the rest of the aggressor's technical capabilities. His Computronic calculated that the 1000 alien ships would have to fire three times each to cripple the ship. And since they had to recharge after each shot, he thought he had an excellent chance to collect the stranded crew and go to Trans light." He silently listened to the damage reports of his officers from each shot from the alien fleet. So far, nothing vital had been hit." Hail the Ivanhoe crew and tell them to hurry up!" Olnatar could not stop laughing. The weapon fire of the enormous ship was sporadic and so far had only destroyed one of his craft, one who approached the monster too aggressively.  It was evident that this giant had no weapon that could reach as far as the Holy fire could. He told his fleet to take no risk. And concentrate fire on one side of the ship only. "If that was meant to impress us, they failed. They build big, but that iron ball is slow and primitive!" "Grand Initiator, there are new contacts on the Feeler horizon. This time tiny little things, but unbelievable fast!" "First an Iron ball that is slow and now gnats, what will they send next to amuse us?" WOLFCRAFT FIGHTERS 9th FLEET "This is Bobcat, Attack wing Alpha calling the USS Balmung. We arrived at the engagement area. The Klack monster is in trouble, but they just managed to take the last Aux craft of the Ivanhoe aboard. Do we have attack permission?" "This is Admiral Strother. All Wolfcraft, Enable all weapons, and you are clear to engage. I repeat, engage, and destroy. No mercy! No quarter! The Long-range sniper bun boats in range, in T minus thirteen." Bobcat switched to Wing channel, "All wings you heard Wild Bill, the first kill buys the first round of Devi beer!" SIUCRA Olnatar was not concerned even though these tiny ships that now approached were faster than anything they had ever seen. What race would put resources in such a big ship and then build such small ones? What could those little gnats possibly do against a Siucra Battleship?" The first Siucra battleship exploded right next to his flagship, it suddenly expanded like an inflatable toy and then disappeared in a sun-bright explosion. Grand Initiator, our targeting calcumatics find it challenging to predict the course of these little ships! We cannot bring the Holy fire Casters fast enough in the right direction!" Another Siucra ship exploded then five more right after that. There was no detectable weapon fire from these little ships, yet he got reports that antimatter explosions suddenly occurred inside the ships engine rooms! There! Two Siucra battleships managed to fire and hit one of the little ships, the withering energies simply made a purple energy bubble visible for a short millisecond then the small fighter ship was gone,, and two more of his fleet's ships exploded! Now on the furthest magnification horizon of their Visualizer 100 wedge shape ships appeared, shaped precisely like the first ship they encountered and destroyed but by magnitudes more significant! 9th FLEET "Giga loads authorized! Giga loads authorized!" Boomed the speaker message. The primary battery crews of the USS Balmung grabbed their anti-static rags, and the gleaming red aluminum casings came up the bomb elevator. Sergeant Nick Stone grinned at his Bootnar partner. "It's big boy time!" The Botnaar wiped like a whirlwind and growled back. "They picked the wrong Admiral to mess with; Our Wild Bill loves his Giga loads!" Nick wrote: Greetings from the USS Ivanhoe with a grease pen on the case as it slid into the dematerialization breech. The next red casing came up the elevator. Commander Marcus had reached the Command center of the N' Toothal and stood next to the Klack. They and the rest of the bridge crew saw the USS Balmung slowly drift leeward to fire all her primary batteries, all 20 Giga load cannons simultaneous displaced. Twenty small suns bloomed among the Alien fleet, and each energy flare took the location of a Sicura ship. "That is for you, Captain Saxa!" He said with a constricted throat while the crew behind them cheered. SIUCRA There was fear in the voice of his Distant Speaker Operator. "Great Initiator, we lost three hundred ships already! And there are more of these slave ships coming! We must retreat! The Holy Fire does not penetrate whatever protection bubbles they employ." "Tell the other ships to fight to the end, while we return to Holy Space and get more ships!" He said that knowing deep inside, that all ships of the Siucra would make no difference. The insectoids were correct after all. Who or whatever these Unions were, he wished now he did not anger them. But all they needed to do is pray and chant to call their masters. The Kermac would surely hear their plea. Let us sing for Kermac help! Olnatar paid for all his sins in this universe as a five kiloton Antimatter bomb at the point of detonation materialized right under his hanging bar. Ninth Fleet Admiral "Wild" Bill Strother, COWCOM (Coreward Fleet Command) had personally taken command of the 9th fleet and made the USS Balmung, BBG-31 his flagship. He didn't like to sit even though regulations required everyone on the bridge to be secured in a Battle station chair during General Quarters. There were a few perks that came with his three stars and not to take every regulation as strict as a Cadet was one of them. Besides, if there were something that could throw him off his feet standing in the best-protected area of a superdreadnought Arsenal class ship, he would not be much safer in a battle seat. He had his hands rested on the railing surrounding the so-called Command balcony. Behind him was Captain Bernhard Sassoon, completely disappeared inside his Battle viewer. It was those moments he wished he was a captain again. Yes, the admiral had earned his rank and for the most part, liked the fact that he was done with work every day at 1600 hours and could go home to a beautiful little house by the river. But in times like these, he itched to be back in the saddle, again in the command chair. It was there, he earned his nickname, Wild Bill, no one dared to say in his face, but everyone said it with loving respect behind his back.