SAW 1: Stars at War (23 page)

Star System Dalon, Core of the Viron Empire

Battle space

Out of 15,497 human missiles, 14201 made it into position
without being shot down by snake fighters. They surrounded the snake fleet of
eight ships like a ball of needles, all of them pointing inward.

At Prancort’s command, they dove.

For the next hour, they accelerated to titanic velocities,
adding one gigaton of kinetic energy each to their fusion payload.

At 80,000 kilometers, the snakes opened up with point of
defense laser fire at the ball of needles coming in from all directions. There
were so many missiles  the snake point defense grazers were overwhelmed. They
destroyed 500 before the needles entered the snake fleet’s ECM and
counter-missiles.

After two battles, the snake fleet’s electronic
countermeasures and mini-missile supply became been exhausted. What little it
remade, using raw materials it self-cannibalized and collected at earlier
systems was used to create new ECMs and mini-missiles. As of result, only 30%
of the fleet’s full ECM and mini-missile complement would even be launched. The
ECMs caused 2000 human missiles to lose tracking. The snake mini-missiles took
out a thousand human missiles. Thus, 10700 human missiles reached the snake
fleet’s flak range.

The snake fleet launched millions of fusion canisters which
detonated, creating a very strong flak wall. Although not impenetrable, the
flak wall of expanding plasma became very thick and only 40-50 kilometers away
from the snake warships themselves. Out of 10,700 human missiles, only 6300
made their way through the flak wall fully functional.

Each of the 6300 human missiles smashed into the snake
fleet. Each missile contained over 500 megatons of fusion payload and unlike
the previous missile battles…over 70% of them smacked into the rear or side
armor of the snake vessel it targeted. Adding along a gigaton of kinetic
energy, the resulting explosions decimated the eight snake warships. Vast
boleros of fire smashed through all the snake vessels.

….A cataclysm of destruction.

Whole inner compartments exploded into debris. Snake fusion
cores detonated, unable to control their containments, adding more explosive
payload to the massacre.

Not a single snake ship survived.

All eight snake starships became wreckage. Each belched fire
as internal atmosphere ran loose into the cold void—entire systems, propulsion,
weapons, gravity control and power—failed. What was left after the missile
strike became vulnerable debris, ready for the picking.

However, the destruction did not end.

The snake kinetic kill particles, launched by the snake
fleet earlier, smashed into Dalon’s World. For each kinetic kill particle,
gigatons of explosive energy unleashed onto the surface. Massive atomic sized
fireballs blew into the planet’s atmosphere. Although, the entire planetary
population escaped into the underground bombardment shelters, the shelters
themselves were not failsafe. Approximately 5% of the planet’s 1.2 billion
population died as shelters collapsed, due to being too close to the centers of
impact.

Waves of fire rings expanded in every direction, killing all
native surface life.

The planet’s surface did—become glass.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Star System Dalon

Second Planet, Dalon’s World

City
Beta Aquatine
, Northern Continent

Bomb Shelter 1422, Sleeping Compartment

The ground shook violently.

Elle’s face cringed as both of them hid beneath their bunks.

“You, alright?” Goldie asked.

“Yeah, are you?” Elle smiled.

“I’m good. I have you.”  His big wavy blond hair fluttered
in every direction as the ground shook.

Elle couldn’t understand what exactly happened inside her
but suddenly, she felt romantic…whether it was the fear or the adrenaline,
suddenly Goldie became the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. “
Hey
,” she
mouthed, “
I like you
.”

Goldie smiled with a wide grin most big, confident boys had
when they smiled.

It warmed Elle’s heart.

He leaned forward to kiss her, and just as he did so, the
ground spasmed.

Goldie’s head crashed into Elle’s lip and suddenly nothing
in world seemed romantic as Elle grabbed her lip in pain. “Oww!”

Then, to Elle’s astonishment, Goldie reached forward with
his arms and before long, Elle became inside his tight embrace. Being so young,
she didn’t understand men or love or emotions very well, but at that moment,
she suddenly got the feeling—a new feeling—that he was the one—the one she
ought to love forever.

So then….as the world above became lifeless glass, the two
below held each other, for a very, very long time.

No matter what happens, I’ll always feel safe as long as
you’re holding me, thought Elle.

Flag Bridge, Juggernaut VSF
Asterix

“All Cell warships, surrender yourselves,” Prancort blasted
the order across space, using grav radio. He didn’t even add ‘or be destroyed’
because none of the snake warships seemed to have any fight left in them. They
were sprawling debris—nothing more. The Admiral estimated that maybe 10% of the
snake crews survived the missile attack, and were hiding inside those wreckages
they called ships.

“We surrender,” came an alien voice, followed by several
insectoid clicks, on the main channel.

“To whom am I speaking to?” said Prancort into the
microphone.

“Supreme Commander of the Cell Space Fleet Roro
Cro-Drignon,” it replied.

“Supreme Commander? You are the one who controls the enemy
fleet?” Prancort asked.

“Yes,” a voice came back over the net while sounding
mechanically human, probably a byproduct of whatever translation software it
used.

“Greetings, commander. I am Prancort de Gaulle,
supreme…Admiral of the Viron Star Fleet. I have been wanting to meet you for a
long time. We accept your surrender. Power down any weapons and all star
drives.”

A pause, followed by incomprehensible clicking. “All weapons
and gravity drives are powered down. We surrender. Please help us.”

“Good, we will send medical and engineering personnel
immediately. For now, consider all survivors of your fleet prisoners of war.”

Another pause, followed by clicking. “Yes,” Roro replied.

Prancort broke the connection.

Then, this was finally
it
—Prancort couldn’t believe
he just spoke to his Arch nemesis, the one who’d been in control of the vast
fleet Prancort fought for so long. All those tricks and deceptions and
traps…now the invisible enemy had a name.

Roro.
A name that Prancort would forever remember.

He reminded himself to one day go and see this Roro
physically. He imagined Roro would look like any adult snake would look. A
three-meter long centipede with developed cranial lobes.

He shuddered to think how he would compare with such a
creature physically.

Roro, thought Prancort. You’re the mastermind of all this—if
I hadn’t been lucky, I would be the one surrendering my fleet to you, or
whatever would be left of it
.

Then, Prancort thought, if he hadn’t been lucky with the
7000 human fighters who appeared just on time, there would have been no
surrender. He doubted the snakes accepted surrender from an enemy. Most likely,
the snake fleet would have blasted his fleet to pieces, and Prancort along with
it, and all the orbital facilities around Dalon’s world.

Did snakes have morality? Did they follow the rules of
war?
Prancort doubted it. Not from what he’d seen so far.

With this in mind, Prancort realized even if the enemy
didn’t,
he
would follow the rules of war and treat his prisoners well.

Therefore, using his keypads, he planned for the proper
imprisonment of the snake survivors. The mop up operation began well underway.

Battle Statistics

Battle of Dalon

Date: 4091 AD (Galactic Year 1720), October 30th

Result: Total Human Victory

Belligerents: First Viron Empire  / Cell Khanate

Leaders (FVE) : Admiral Prancort de Gaulle

Leaders (Cell) : Master Commander Roro Cro-Drignon

Motivations (FVE) : Industrial protection

Motivations (Cell) : Annihilation of the humanity's ability
to produce new ships

Strength (FVE) :

3 capital ships (90 million tons) / 30,000 Humans

17 missile ships - 15,500 capital ship missiles/ 5,000
Humans

7 light fighter carriers - 7,000 fighters, / 10,000 Humans

Strength (Cell) :

7 capital ships (2 billion tons) / 0.2 Million Insectoids

15 fighter carriers - 16,000 fighters / 22,000 Insectoids

Losses (FVE)
: all missiles destroyed / 3,000 fighter
pilots killed / 68 million surface civilians dead / 8 million injured / 0
Captured

Losses (Cell)
: 22 Warships (5 billion tons) / 16,000
fighters pilot killed / 0.18 Million Insectoids Dead / 15,325 Injured / 42,081
Captured

Part of  Early Insectoid Expansion Campaign (Show)

Epilogue: Invasion’s End—A New Beginning

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Star System Dalon, Core of the Viron Empire

Fleet Base
Aquaria
, Synchorbit around Dalon's
World

Detainee Jail Cell One

A week later…

C
ountless
millions died. The total human death toll from the war’s beginning numbered
67,848,702. The largest portion came from the kinetic bombardment of Dalon’s
World, where approximately 50 million died in crumbling underground shelters
which couldn’t withstand a direct impact above.

The surface of Dalon’s World is now pure glass. From space,
it appears mostly black but intermeshed with glowing red streams of fires which
hadn’t cooled. It would be many years before the surface would become
habitable, again. For now, the reconstruction of Dalon’s World is underway. Every
day, food transports from other areas of the Empire came to Dalon’s World to
offload fresh supplies to its starving population.

The war wasn’t over. Just because Prancort defeated this
invasion didn’t mean the war ended. No doubt, both sides—snakes and humans—kept
their war industries operating at full speed, creating new starships and
weapons to defeat the other.

Would the snakes ever stop their planned conquest of the
human territories to gain population space?

For these eventual battles, Prancort had yet again, a
solution. He would ask a certain being a question…an effort to stop the war and
make peace with each other.

“Master Commander Roro Cro-Drignon,” Prancort called to the
caged insectoid on the other side of the invisible shield wall.

The cool prison air flowed freely in between the two
battlefield commanders.

Prancort couldn’t help but notice a stench coming from the
three meter wide centipede in front of him. “Do you think the war will ever
end? If I free you, can you stop your nation from attacking us?”

The centipede in front clicked.

“No,” the mechanical translator attached to Roro’s neck
echoed out, “I cannot aid you in your quest to stop my nation from invading
your lands. I am sorry. I am just an appointee. I gained my post as Supreme Commander
or as your nation would call it—Fleet Admiral, because of my skills. I have no
political leverage with the eight Warlords. I cannot convince them to stop
their invasion.”

“Surely, you have some political power?”

“I have none,” Roro answered, “And even if I had, I would
not convince my nation to stop invading your territory for land. The Cell
Empire must grow. We, snakes, will forever need new land to conquer. It is our
destiny as a species. It is the destiny of the galaxy for the weak to succumb to
the strong, for those without capability to be weeded out by those who can kill
them. It is the natural law of all things.”

Prancort couldn’t believe what he just heard. Surely, this
particular snake didn’t speak for all snakes. “But that will lead to forever
war…If your species must always be growing, there will never be enough
territory within the galaxy to satisfy your continuous growth. How will it end,
when you are the only species left?”

Roro clicked. The translation box spoke, “Then, and only
then, will we be satisfied. I imagine even then, we will begin warring amongst
our own clans for population space, much like the elder ages before space
flight.”

“And that is truly the nature of your species? Constant
war?”

“Yes.”

Moments passed while Prancort pondered the implications of
what the Master Commander said. Finally, Prancort spoke, “Then, I have no more
to say to you, Master Commander Roro. I hope you rest easily. We will not kill
you or torture you for information. You and you alone, are our guest. Please
ask chief scientist Willhouse if you would like more accommodations. A larger
room. Food. A mate. I understand your species is sexual in nature.”

The centipede in front clicked in what appeared to be joy.
“My captors are most gracious. Thank you.”

So…with that, Prancort turned around and headed for the
exit—then he stopped. He turned and gave a crisp salute. He knew Roro didn’t
know what it meant, so he spoke, “From one warrior to another, I wish you many
years of life. And as much joy as you can have in that cell. Perhaps, we can
play a strategy game. I can teach you 3D chess.”

Roro, on the other side of the jail cell, clicked at him, “I
can learn.”

“Good. When I have leisure time, I will visit.”
Then…Prancort left.

Fleet Base
Aquaria
, Synchorbit around Dalon's
World

Fleet Admiral’s Quarters

Prancort stared into the abyss through his port window. The
blackness of space stared back, with its usual vast sprinkle of stars.

With the technology gained by salvaging the wreckage of the
snake fleet, humanity could now produce new ships equipped with more efficient
inertia nullifiers and better weapons, such as snake gamma ray lasers. Already,
new starship classes came out of human assembly docks from all over the empire.

While he gazed at the Stardock called
Prometheus II
two hundred kilometers away, he noticed the human crews were fast at work on a
new starship hull. The new human juggernaut
Ares V
would serve as
Prancort’s flagship. Armed with every technological advantage gained from
dissecting snake warships, it would be the icon of human ingenuity and
perseverance.

Soon, all the technological disadvantages humans had would
be erased. Soon, humanity would be able to create better starships than their
snake counterparts on the opposite side of the galaxy, using their own
knowledge, combined with what they found on snake starships.

If the war would last a long time, and it certainly appeared
this way, having better warships would prove to be an immeasurable step towards
victory.

Prancort pressed the inside of his palm against the
transparency separating him from the cold abyss.

The war definitely wasn’t over. Who knew what new talents,
new nemeses, would arise? To beat them, and to win the war, Prancort would have
to go on the offensive. He would have to invade the snake territories. He would
have to destroy entire worlds in order to cripple the snake manufacturing
economy…which, he already knew to be stronger than humans. Judging from the
speed in which the snakes pumped out new starships, Prancort imagined he would
have to begin the invasion at the earliest date.

He’d already decided. The moment he achieved twenty
warships, he would launch the invasion.

Then, of course, there would be losses, but from these
losses—new talents were bred from experience. Talents like Admiral Jacobs and
Admiral Kirkeis.

Prion—dear Prion—dead, as were many others in this war, but
those who lived will be stronger.

He knew he could trust the survivors of three major battles
with anything. His new fleet, nicknamed Prancort’s fleet, would be ready soon.
They would be manned by the survivors of the three battles…veterans.

With this in mind, Prion walked away from the viewing
transparencies and headed to bed. Tomorrow would be another day. Who knew what
tomorrow would bring, when major events could happen within seconds?

Fleet Base
Aquaria
, Synchorbit around Dalon's
World

Hospital Ward 001

Bobbi Duke woke up to the sound of fresh oxygen pumping
through the vents into her little room.

I’m alive.

She glanced left and then to the right— to see no one except
open space, a holo set, and some chairs.

I guess I’m alone, too.

Where am I?

A sound rustled behind her. She could hear a tiny person’s
breathing. “Who’s there?”

The rustling became louder and louder, until it seemed to be
almost an inch away from her ear.

Bobbi twisted her head to look. Instantly, recognition
sprouted in her face. “Kitty!”

“Mommy, you’re awake!” Cathy Duke exclaimed.

“Kitty! You’ve been here waiting for me all along?” Bobbi
Duke reached out, giving her daughter a bear hug.

“Yep, mommy! The nurse told me not to touch any of the
buttons and so I didn’t!”

“How long have you been waiting?”

“A little over two hours. The nurse said you would wake up
today. Mommy, you’ve got scars!”

“I imagine I have a lot.” Bobbi grinned while gazing at her
daughter’s fresh freckled face. “Have the kids in the playground been treating
you nicely?”

Her daughter grinned. “Haven’t you heard? School has been
canceled ever since the planet got bombed.”

“Oh, I see,” mouthed Bobbi, still clenching her daughter
with a bear hug. “It’s good to be back. It’s good to see you, again.”

Most of her wing mates would never believe her if she told
them she was a mother. That’s why she never spoke of it. Bobbi knew it would be
mostly impossible for her wing mates to believe their tomboyish wing commander
ever birthed a child.

“And how has daddy been treating you?”

“Daddy’s real nice nowadays. Ever since he heard about how
you saved the world, he’s been talking about you a lot.”

Bobbi laughed. “Saved the world? I didn’t save the world. I
just got there at the right time.”

“That’s not what the news programs say…The news program said
you led the 7000 fighters and killed twice as many snakes, so that Admiral
Prancort could launch his missiles and that—”

“Admiral Prancort saved the world, not me!”

“Not true!” her daughter argued. “If you hadn’t been there,
Admiral Prancort wouldn’t have had his missiles, and the news programs say we’d
all be dead!”

“I can’t argue with that.” Bobbi grinned. “I suppose I was important
to the battle.”

“You were! You’re being decorated, mommy. Admiral Prancort
and the President both came into your room while you were asleep. They watched
you sleep and everything. You’re going to get a big reward.”

“Really?” Bobbi couldn’t imagine what the award might be.
Then, she thought about her finances. If the reward was money, it would be
great for her and Cathy. Maybe she could quit her job and take a nice long
vacation.
No,
Mommy shook her head. The war would still be on. She
wouldn’t quit her job for anything in the world, not as long as she could pilot
a fighter. “What’s the award called?”

“I can’t remember…” Her daughter seemed puzzled. “Something
stars something…”

“Golden Star’s Cross?” Mommy’s eyes opened wide.

“Yeah, something like that.”

The Golden Star’s Cross. The nation’s highest military
honor
. If she got it, she and her family would be set. Those were awarded
only several times a year for the nation’s highest military achievement. Mommy
imagined it, hanging on her bed, it would really be something… if it were true!
“I can’t wait until they pin it to my chest.”

“You’ll get it, mommy. The president promised you would! But
first, aren’t you hungry?”

“Actually, I am. Kitty, get the nurse!”

For the rest of day, mommy ate and drank. Together with her
daughter, the two of them watched the news programs. All over the news, they
saw and heard about Admiral Prancort’s victory and how he captured the snake
fleet admiral, as well as all the snake technologies. In the holograms, Admiral
Prancort with all his dark wavy hair and distant eyes looked like the ideal
bachelor. Mommy wondered if one day, she could catch a man like him, but then
she imagined her ex-husband would like to hook up with her again, since she’d
been on the news, too.

Eventually, she focused away from the news and sat silently,
staring at her 11 year old daughter. She thought about all the things that
happened so far, how close she’d come to death, yet how she escaped death each
time. Life was truly a miracle. It seemed amazing how she was still alive to
watch her daughter grow, despite all her flaws…as a pilot and as a mother.

A miracle.
Bobbi gazed at her daughter, who played
with the hologram set.

She wondered if everything happened all over again, would
she do it all again? Would she risk all she cherished to fight a war? To
dogfight with three snake fighters at once?

The answer rang in her head…
Yes.
She would,
because
it’s what I am…a fighter
. No matter how much the risks or how deadly the
costs, she would fight as a skilled pilot for the human race— with no doubt in
her mind that her heart and soul would be winning the battles to come.

Into the fray once more, thought Bobbi Duke.

Back into the fray once more.

THE END