SECTOR 64: Ambush (37 page)

It was good to see her mom's brashness return. During the flight from Carmel Valley, Sandy told her all she knew about the alien invasion. Considering what she was going through, Sandy hadn't wanted to burden her with the news. However, once they'd climbed to altitude, her mother witnessed the widespread devastation firsthand.

"I'll check on the two of you in a little bit. Make sure they take good care of Daddy."

Her momma hugged her. Wincing, Sandy returned it. Moving her hands to cradle Sandy's face, she looked into her eyes. "Be careful, honey." Pulling her head down, her mom kissed Sandy's forehead and then waved a dismissive hand toward the ambulance. "Don't you worry about your daddy." She winked at Sandy. "He's survived forty-nine years of my nagging. The stubborn ol' coot'll survive this."

Having finished prepping her father for transport, the medics were ready to depart. Sandy helped her mom into the back of the ambulance.

"I'll make damn sure these boys take good care of my Johnny."

Sandy smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I know you will, Mom. I know you will." Almost feeling sorry for him, Sandy gave the sergeant an apologetic nod. "Take good care of my parents."

He saluted her. "Yes, ma'am."

Sandy closed the ambulance's door and smacked the vehicle's side twice. Siren blaring and engine roaring, the truck sped off.

Salyth seethed. Attacking first, the Argonians had broken protocol, leaving his plan in ruins. He pounded a fist into the rock ceiling as two more of his ships imploded under the onslaught.

"Commodore, our dreadnoughts are being wiped out. Ship commanders report all available power is being diverted to their shields. They're unable to complete weapon recharging. We have no gene weapons to deploy."

"Has our weapon finished charging?"

"Almost, Commodore. I've been charging it since we brought the computers online. However, maintaining our shield strength, coupled with the reduced power available, is slowing the process."

Salyth roared in frustration. "Have the two closest ships extend their shields. Once they're covering us, divert all power to charge the gene weapon." As he gave the order, another ship's shields collapsed. Instantly, it detonated under an intensified barrage of energy beams. Chunks of ship and molten asteroid rained down. Bouncing harmlessly off the Argonian shields, it fell toward the planet below.

The GDF battlecruisers diverted more of their firepower at the falling debris, slowing their destruction of his fleet. The sight spawned a spark of hope. "The fools are so concerned with protecting their brothers on the planet, they're giving us the time we need to assure their destruction!"

His momentary elation faltered as another ship's shield failed in a spectacular explosion.

"Commodore, even at this rate, our fleet may be completely wiped out before the weapon fully charges."

Salyth roared. Blazing across the bridge, he struck as Lord Thrakst had during the first test of the gene disruptor weapon. However, Salyth did not retract his forearm's razor-sharp talon. The officer's blood flew across the bridge. He fell to the floor, gurgling and clutching at his slashed throat.

Kicking aside the convulsing body of his last officer, Salyth took over his station. "You go tell the Forebearers it can't be done. I'll stay here and make it happen!"

The dead eyes of the now motionless body accusingly stared into Salyth's soul.
It's your fault, Commodore! We're all dead because of your ineptitude!

"Shut up, coward!" Salyth snapped. He kicked the dead officer. The body rolled, coming to rest with its back to him. Maddeningly, the partially decapitated head lolled back, its dead eyes staring at Salyth.

White light filled the bridge. The commodore tore himself from the hatchling's dead accusatory eyes. Outside, a supernova appeared to flare from within two of his ships. Surrendering to the nuclear holocaust, they shattered, spraying molten stone and metal against the extended shields protecting his vessel.

Argonians don't use atomic weapons.

Remembering the ships that had nearly destroyed him, Salyth shook a fist at the ceiling. "Forebearer's damnation! Once I finish with your ancestors, I'll feast on your human bones!"

Turning to the blood-covered control panel, he pounded the weapon's status display. "Charge, you cursed weapon!
Charge
!"

***

"Standby, Captain Allison. My other fighters are rejoining," Colonel Zach Newcastle said.

"Roger, sir."

Having completed their first attack run on the reorganized enemy fleet, Vampire Squadron's Alpha and Bravo Wings reunited east of the battle. Superimposed over Earth's curving blue sphere, Vlad's ship pulled alongside his. "Bravo Wing checking in," Commander Yaakov reported through a thick Russian accent.

"Roger, Vlad," Zach said, saluting him through his fighter's canopy. "Good shooting, comrade."

Commander Yaakov returned the salute, his mirrored helmet dipping in a nod. "As well to you, my friend."

Nodding and dropping the salute, Zach returned to the Space Control frequency. "That's great news, Captain Allison. I'll brief my squadron then we're heading back in. Keep feeding me the updates."

"Will do, Colonel. Turtle One, out."

At Admiral Thoyd Feyhdyak's request, the squadron had rejoined the battle. The Argonians had diverted most of their strong lasers to vaporizing the massive chunks raining down from the conflagration. Because of the suspected hot enemy weapon and the ongoing laser barrage, Admiral Feyhdyak asked Vampire Squadron to abandon their previous close combat tactics and deploy their bunker busters from a greater distance. He said the combined effect of the squadron's nukes coupled with the Argonian's lasers would speed up the destruction of the Zoxyth while limiting the unit's exposure.

Zach knew they owed the Argonians a great debt of gratitude. He figured some of the GDF ships could get away if they made a run for it. However, that would leave the planet undefended and lighten the barrage, potentially opening a window for the enemy to drop shields long enough to deploy their weapon. The Argonian ships were holding station in a heroic effort to save the planet.

He returned to the squadron frequency. "Good job Vampires. Our first attack helped destroy all but the last two enemy dreadnoughts."

A chorus of cheers filled his helmet.

After a quick inventory of the squadron's remaining missiles, Colonel Newcastle continued in a somber tone. "Those two enemy ships are all that stand between us and what's left of their command ship. It's time to finish these bastards. Only nine of us still have missiles." He nodded to his right. "Commander Yaakov, in addition to your two missiles, I count one each in three of your fighters. Take your armed fighters and hit the far ship with four missiles."

Vlad nodded.

"Major Jakobson, I'm going to bring up the rear with my two missiles. You and three of your wingmen have one missile each. I want you four to hit the near ship with four missiles, as well. I'll take care of the command ship. Stagger your weapons. If the first one weakens the shield, the second or third might get through. At any rate, the combined effect should give the Argonian lasers an opening to finish this."

Commander Yaakov's thickly accented voice came across the radio. "Comrade, by my count, we have eleven missiles left. No?"

Newcastle nodded. "Da, my friend. I want to keep a couple in reserve. You and I will hold onto one missile each."

Vlad nodded again.

Zach punched a series of numbers into his Fire Control Computer. "I'm uploading the attack sequence into each of your FCCs." Two seconds after pressing the send key, he received an automated confirmation from each fighter.

Saluting his squadron, he said, "Good luck, gentlemen, I'll see you on the other side."

Each returned the salute.

Heart racing—as it always did just before joining the battle—he watched the computer countdown. At the designated time, Alpha and Bravo Wings accelerated to their initialization points. Reaching their assigned vector, each turned and rocketed toward the back of an Argonian fighter.

With an eye on his clock, Zach flexed his gloved fingers over the fighter's flight controller.
Three … two … one … now!
He shoved the stick forward. The fighter shot west, toward the battle, quickly narrowing the two hundred mile gap.

Ahead, Alpha and Bravo Wing's missiles started streaming toward their targets. Launched at their programmed intervals, they looked like a staggered line of fiery-tailed arrows. Each flew straight toward the back of the friendly Argonian fighter assigned to block its approach from enemy observation. At the absolute last second, when Zach was certain it was doomed, each fighter darted out of the missile's path. The tactic hid the Vampire fighter's egress and their missile's ingress until each had accelerated to a velocity that left the enemy no time to react.

On cue, the Argonian's unleashed a fresh onslaught, providing cover for the egressing fighters.

Reaching his approach vector, Colonel Newcastle's ship turned and accelerated toward the back of his assigned Argonian fighter. One hundred miles from the enemy ships, he launched his missile. An instantaneous course reversal snapped his ship outbound. Flying backward, he watched the first group of missiles approach their targets.

His canopy auto-dimmed as a strobing chain of four brilliant nuclear detonations blossomed above the bracketing enemy ships. Not penetrating, the nukes exploded against their shields.

The hourglass shape of the overlapping glowing shells looked like a massive amoeba frozen in the act of cellular division. Completing the illusion, the ships within formed nuclei. The right half of the amoebic shell flickered and collapsed. As the others had, the shield released its energy in a storm of dissipating lightning bolts.

"Come on!" he screamed, heart racing.

Adding to the assault, the few Argonian lasers not tasked with debris vaporization still drilled into the trio. The fifth nuke detonated against the far ship's shield. Still extended to encapsulate the enemy ship-remnant, it flared like a teardrop-shaped miniature sun, but somehow, it held against the nuclear assault.

"Damn it! Come on," he growled, willing the last shield to collapse.

The sixth and seventh missiles slammed into the unprotected near ship. For a millisecond, it looked like a star had been born within the vessel's rocky confines. Glowing with internal brilliance, a network of hundreds of fissures suddenly crisscrossed its surface. Then, the dreadnought disintegrated in a nuclear holocaust.

Newcastle pumped his fist. "Yes!"

Turning from the roiling plasma cloud, he watched the eighth missile close on the last enemy dreadnought. Following close behind, his missile bore down on the ship-remnant.

Eyes narrowed with focused hate, Newcastle glared at the bastard that had wiped out DC. "Die you son of a bitch!"

***

Another blinding flash came from the right of Salyth's ship. Checking that sector's video feed, he saw the unmistakable roiling fireball of another fission bomb. Its shields weakened by the barrage of focused energy weapons, the starboard dreadnought succumbed to the renewed nuclear attack.

The blast slammed the remains of The
Forebearer's Revenge
into the ship on its left. The impact overloaded the inertial compensators. Thrown across the bridge, Salyth crashed into the far wall with bone-crushing force. Fighting to his feet, he scrambled back to the weapon control panel. Through the blood covering its surface, the
Charging
icon still pulsed red.

Outside, brilliant light blossomed again as another fission bomb struck his final dreadnought. The last protective ship's forcefield flickered, threatening to fail. His ship rocked under the shock wave, knocking him to the deck again.

Pulverized and bleeding profusely, he clawed his way back up to the control panel. Knowing his death was only moments away, Commodore Salyth feared he had failed the Forebearers.

***

The tremendous battle played across the
Turtle's
view-wall. Only the ship-remnant and its two protective dreadnoughts remained.

Jake felt a hint of hope struggling to castoff some of the day's overwhelming dread and horror. The three Air Force pilots watched in shocked trepidation as Vampire Squadron's nuclear bunker-busters slammed ineffectually into the Zoxyth shields. Like an insane disco-strobe on hyper-drive, the rapid-fire detonations and subsequent auto-dimming painted the
Turtle's
cabin in surrealistic stop-frame animation.

Two blinding flashes later, the right dreadnought ruptured with the brilliance of an internal nuclear detonation. Under the combined assault of the Argonian's laser barrage and Vampire Squadron's nuclear bombardment, its shields collapsed in a spreading electrical discharge and the asteroidal ship detonated, a blinding fire blasting from a spiderweb of fissures.

"Yes!" Jake screamed.

Their stop-animation celebration froze when the third missile detonated against the left cruiser's shields which flickered but appeared to hold. Their final hope rested on the last two missiles bearing down on the remaining two targets.

"Please," Victor whispered.

Collectively holding their breath, all three pilots stepped up, placing their hands against the view-wall. Willing the missiles into their targets, Jake whispered through clenched
teeth, "Go … go … go!" He pushed against the clear wall with each chant.

At the last moment, the two Argonian fighters that shielded their approach darted aside. An eternal second later, just before the left missile struck, the last forcefield collapsed. Passing through the expanding web of lightning bolts, the missile slammed into the final enemy dreadnought and it exploded with wonderful internal brilliance.

Jake's heart raced as the final missile closed on the Zoxyth command ship. "Time for you to die!" he shouted. The view-wall auto-darkened as the missile struck the ship-remnant with a brilliant flash.

***

Salyth could feel his strength waning. His blood now ran freely across the console. Checking the flickering tactical display, he saw two missiles bearing down. The final one had the
Forebearer's Revenge
in its sights.