SODIUM:5 Assault (11 page)

I soon made reference to the Council of Governance and that he would have to submit to their every wish. I then looked into his beady little eyes and reminded him that while the Human Empire was benevolent, it would not take any transgressions against it lightly. Whether or not the Borten were admitted into the HE was up to the COG and the cooperation they received.

As he once again began to talk I gestured for the guards to take him away. I was in no mood to discuss anything further with the alien being who had just attempted to annihilate me. Had I been any other commander of any other race of beings he might have been summarily executed on the spot. But I was not one of those who took life lightly.

When the recon destroyer reached the Por Hollis home-world the news was once again not good. There were a dozen globe ships parked just off one of the worlds. But there was more. There was another type of ship present that we had not seen before. It too was round like the globe ships only much smaller and in far greater numbers.

After a scan by our destroyer it was determined that the smaller Por Hollis ships numbered in the millions. They were jet black, shiny balls that were approximately one kilometer in diameter. A nickname of "Black Pearls" was quickly assigned. They were parked in neat rows and columns giving the appearance of a gigantic cube shape from a distance.

After several days had passed it was reported that the red world was turning out nearly ten thousand of the Black Pearls a day. Again we were faced with a ship that we had no way of knowing what capabilities it possessed. And to make matters worse, the Por Hollis had no radio wave communications for us to detect and decipher. They were dark a world to our sensors.

From our destroyers distance we could see the giant factories orbiting their world and we could see the ships flying between the surface and the factories. We could also make out the great spaceports that dotted its surface. All structures were of the same shiny black appearance as their smaller ships.

While fascinating to observe, the Por Hollis would have to wait for another day to feel the wrath of the HE. We had ships to repair and a new planetary system to bring under governance. I hoped for a time of peace where we could first absorb the technologies that the Borten had to offer. I also hoped for time so that our commanders could integrate the Borten ships into our fleets. If anything, the sheer number of ships they had to offer would be a good distraction for any foe.

With a new world under governance and with the next threat under surveillance I ordered the damaged ships in our fleet to return home for repairs. It was also going to be a time for celebration... both on Earth and Toledus. The Kurtz Marines had performed admirably in battle and eagerly awaited a newer, and preferably lower ranked world into the HE. They were still clinging to their hierarchical ways, but as long as they complied with our orders it was not an issue.

I had been making frequent trips to the medical bays to check on Zack and his sons. They were all well on the way to full recoveries having received severe concussions from the gravity weapon blast that had taken them down. Zack's sons were like clones of their father. They had the same handsome build and face and a demeanor that always put you at ease.

I had once again become close to Zack, but it was as a friend. He had a wife back home and it was evident that he loved her. I had convinced myself that the feelings I had once had for him had long since passed. There was a fondness, an admiration and respect, but there was no love.

I sat with him in the infirmary for the day of celebration that had been scheduled for our victory. In a modern celebration much noise was made and people were seen flashing lights and jumping about. Things had changed in many ways since the BGS had gone to the masses. Food and drink had always been a large part of any party, but they were no longer something that was needed or done.

The BGS provided all nutrients and at certain times small doses of euphoric drugs were allowed to be administered. In many ways my own people sometimes seemed alien. I wondered what new generations might think of the old ways should they one day be forced back upon them.

My wondering soon turned back to conversation and the day soon ended. I was headed back to the bridge to begin the planning for our next war. We needed intelligence and we needed time. As I looked out over the teaming worlds of the Borten system I couldn't help but wonder what type of enemy the Por Hollis might be. Would we be ready for them should they attack? I guessed we were already as ready as we would ever be.

In a matter of months the Por Hollis had tripled their ship output to more than 30,000 Black Pearls a day. I wondered if we would be better off if we struck at them early as their fleet numbers were growing far faster than ours. Our engineers had been poring over the globe ships attempting to unlock the secrets of their shields. To date, we had made little progress.

I asked our planners to map out an invasion strategy for an attack. I gave them a time frame of three months. In the meantime, five more recon destroyers were immediately dispatched to the Por Hollis system. We needed information if we were going to attack with an informed strategy.

While preparations and plans were being put in order I turned my efforts towards the Borten integration. They had been governed by the same hierarchical system as the Kurtz for thousands of years; it made them very regimented in everything they did. Again, the hierarchy remained in place with their Supreme Commander reporting to our Council of Governance. Any changes to government of either race were going to be done over a long slow period of time. I felt it offered the path of least resistance.

We soon had a flood of Human engineers and scientists landing on the three Borten worlds. There were new technologies to take advantage of including a higher level of automation of factories and farms. The Kurtz ships had originally been produced at the Borten factories, made according to strict Frekkin designs.

The Borten ships and mini-fighters were only marginally better than what the Kurtz had possessed. But with the advantage of sheer numbers the Kurtz had never questioned the Borten authority. Of course, the modern Kurtz had never interacted with the Borten.

The Kurtz had only been told in their schooling lessons that each world above them in the Frekkin Empire was more powerful, and any planet that strayed from the rules would be made an example of. Since they had largely been left alone, with the only real requirement that they pay their Sodium tax, there had never been any question of authority.

We were learning new things about the Frekkin worlds every day. I was stunned when I had first learned that there were no natural births. The youth of each world were made sterile at birth, a birth that occurred in a factory. Hershen had been depressed when the black hole gravity weapon had destroyed Factory 12 in his hometown on Toleda. He had stated that 126 generations of Gor had been born in the same building, on the same birthing line.

Each family or pair was allowed one child born from their DNA. If a family member was to reach a certain level in the hierarchy they were allowed another child. At the highest of levels the royals were allowed up to nine children. It had all been designed to maintain zero population growth.

If a citizen was to die at any level a replacement citizen was then allowed up to a certain age. A lottery system was in place to prevent any family line from growing too large. In the lottery, families in the lower tiers of society would get their rights for a second or sometimes a third child. It was indeed an alien concept to humans, and I had no doubt that it was also alien to both the Kurtz and the Borten before the Frekkin Empire took control.

As far as keeping order, the hierarchical system that was in place made each world easy to manage. But the laws and procedures restricted individual rights. It was a system that most Humans would not accept. Many of us seemed to thrive on arguing and the fights that came with attempting to get ahead. It was a blessing in that it moved us continuously forward, but a curse when abused by those who were not interested in going about life in a civil way. The Human system was a system that I had no desire to change.

I had repeated visit requests by the Borten Supreme Commander. He wanted to discuss various options for trade and had an interest in the Sodium tax levels. He was a pesky sort and after a particularly annoying visit I put forward a decree that his title be changed to Prime Commander of the Borten Worlds. He had no issue with the new title as it was longer, giving him the sense that it was of more importance.

The Sodium tax remained the same with the shipments diverted towards Earth. The Borten had seven mining fleets on four far planets. Their Sodium estimates stated a 2,200 year reserve when including their own consumption. Those estimates were in the process of being revised downward with the loss of the expected Sodium from Earth. Until such time as the war had ended, those numbers had been kept on the books.

At one point our conversations turned to the globe ships. The Prime was unaware of specifically where the extra ships had come from as they only knew of the location where they delivered their Sodium tax. They were aware that there was a system nearby, but they had not taken the time or effort to try to gain information on it as that behavior was strictly forbidden. Again, the Frekkin Empire showed the tightness of its grip on the outer worlds.

The globe ships had arrived, broadcasting a Frekkin signature code, which gave instructions on their use. I asked how the next system up the chain had known to send them and he replied that when the Waffen system stopped their scheduled Sodium shipments the ships and the instructions for their use were delivered. The Waffen had broadcast the message through the Transit Pull that they were not receiving their shipment from the Kurtz.

The transmission methods used by the Transit Pulls were something that needed further investigation. My staff had soon sent word to our science and engineering teams to make a special effort to discover how their technology worked. The message had been received not long after it was broadcast making me wonder if we no longer had our QE comm instant communication advantage.

When the Prime left I paid a visit to Zack in the medical bay. He was only days from release and was eager to get back to the duties that came with being a squad commander. We spent hours talking about the latest Marine training, weapons and BGS suit enhancements. I asked that during his next assault, if one should happen, that he please keep his suit dialed up to maximum. He assured me that he would make the best use of its abilities. I did not take that answer as a yes.

In the days that passed Zack was released and returned to the cruiser Dallas where his team was waiting with a hearty welcome. It was also their first chance to mourn the loss of their two team members that had perished in the Borten war. Their bodies were given full rights and then placed in special pods that would be launched back towards Earth.

The pods would take 90 days to reach their destination where their loved ones could give them a proper burial at home. It was an honor offered to all fallen soldiers. Many had chosen beforehand to instead have their bodies sent towards the Sun. Some felt it would be too hard on their families while others thought it more in line with the age old tradition of burial at sea.

It had been decided early on that launching dead Humans into the voids of space was a bad idea. There were hostiles out there and any information we could keep from them would be an advantage that we could take away. The initial suggestion of sending them towards the closest star had been met with grumbles, so the Earth's sun was the only alternative offered.

My attentions and thoughts were soon directed solely towards the Por Hollis. I had given orders for much of the Borten fleet to be upgraded with many of our technologies. Their factories were quickly being refitted and their ships evaluated for the updates. Redundant systems of overrides were built into each ship that would allow us the option of disabling or destroying them if they were to fall into enemy hands. The senior staff on each ship would also be made up of Humans.

The Por Hollis factories continued to churn out Black Pearl ships at an ever increasing rate. The commands were soon given for the destroyers to launch half of their Driller compliment from behind the closest planet. It was hoped that the production could be stopped or at least the rate of production slowed if it was known that the enemy was nearby.

When the launch came we had 800 Drillers sling-shot around a far rocky planet in the Hollis system, they drifted silently towards the large space based factory. I was stunned when the Drillers were met with little to no resistance. More than 700 of them disappeared into their target.

The massive factory under assault was soon showing signs of its attackers. Surface explosions were followed up by a dark cloud of maintenance ships converging on the damage. For three days we watched as the output of the immense factory ground to a halt. Once again the Drillers had shown their worth.

But the damage they had caused was short lived. And as the number of Drillers began to drop offline, the factory slowly restarted its production. Orders were given to launch the remaining Drillers and another 800 were soon doing their dirty-work to the insides of the alien factory. The damage was repaired in half the time and the factory soon returned to full production.

We had hoped to stir the Black Pearl ships into action, but they had not moved from their stationary position. An entire fleet was then sent with orders to once again launch a Driller attack with half of the Drillers targeting the Black Pearl ships. The 11th fleet departed within the hour.

When the Drillers were launched they numbered close to 250,000. But the Por Hollis were waiting this time and the Black Pearl ships were put to use. The entire cube shape, made up of more than two million Black Pearls, moved as one unit. The same orange field generated by the globe ships was soon spread across the exterior ships, but with intensity far above what we had seen from the globe ships.

In addition, the cube shape began to spin. When the first of the Drillers encountered the orange field they were immediately overwhelmed and destroyed. The microscopic black holes that were generated were of little use against a shield that was continuously moving in a perpendicular direction. Moments later the massive Black Pearl cube was heading towards the rocky planet that concealed the 11th fleet.

The order was given to power up all ships and move away, but the cube already had the advantage of momentum. Instead of going around the small rocky planet it proceeded in a direct line from where it had begun, slicing nearly a third of the planet away as it passed.

I screamed at my monitor for the fleet to move, but our decision had come too late. As the fleet ships accelerated the spinning cube caught up to those who were last to leave. I watched in anguish as one ship after another was overwhelmed and disintegrated by the glowing orange field.

Two thirds of the 11th fleet had been annihilated before our speed advantage finally came into play. Our three battleships had survived, but most of the cruisers and destroyers had not been so lucky. We had lost 80,000 Marines, 32,000 crewmen and more than 100 ships without inflicting any damage.

We knew what the enemy had to offer in terms of their offensive and defensive capabilities, it was weaponry and shields that we did not have a counter for. I ordered that our efforts to unlock the secrets of the globe ships be redoubled and was told that the order had already been forwarded.

I paced the bridge and then sat in my command chair for hours replaying the video of the spinning cube as it tore through the rocky planet and then through our retreating fleet. I wondered how a race could command such power and deliver it with such precision. I soon got a reason why.

At the center of the globe ships was a small chamber. It was theorized by our science teams that the chamber at one time contained a continuous black hole, possibly only the size of a pea. But the power contained by a black hole, even of that small size, was immense. They had only learned of the chambers existence by following magnetically shielded conduits from the ships surface down to the chamber.

There was no evidence of the black hole that had once powered each of the globe ships and our scientists and engineers could find no machinery or any other evidence of how the pea sized black holes had been created. It was speculated that the space factories around the Por Hollis system were somehow producing or initiating the black holes and that we would have to seek any further answers there.

Word soon went out that a team of BGS Marines were needed for a dangerous mission. They would be sent drifting for weeks in an attempt to get them on-board the Por Hollis space factory. And there would be no return trip planned for their rescue. It was a one-way ticket into a hostile environment.

I knew Zack was back on duty and I was worried that it would be the kind of mission he would volunteer for. His sons would no doubt volunteer with him. I sent out a directive that volunteers should first be sought among those with no families. I knew it was an edict that would anger him and many others, but it was a mission that I felt was far too risky. Within an hour he was requesting to speak with me.

We talked for a while and in the end I lifted the edict. He was right. The war was to be fought by all of us, with each individual equally at risk on any given mission. When the roster came out Zack's name was on the top of the list. I would not stand in the way of his volunteering, but I could change the mission.

I had decided that we needed a recon team to land on the planet and to infiltrate a spaceport to see where they led. Our earlier thoughts of a species living underground still needed to be answered. The factory mission was as saboteurs while the planet mission was only recon. Although likely equally as dangerous, I hoped the one without planned hostilities would be less of a suicide mission. The teams were briefed and headed to their launch point within a few hours.

Our factories back home had been cranking out Starburst modules. Orders were given to bring as many to the front lines as possible. The first shipment was expected any day. The plan was to send a Starburst at the massive cube of Black Pearls with the hope that it would cause enough of a distraction for our BGS squads to be launched.

The squads would have to drift for 26 days from a drop-off point far behind the almost half sized rocky planet. One team was designated to target the factory while Zack's team would land on the planet. Neither mission was given a high chance of success by our planners.