Starship Conquistador (Conquest of Stars Book 1) (15 page)

    “They would have dispatched three or
four ships for that,” Bakus said, “This is a major strike and Nestor has to be
its target.”

    “What are you going to do?” Remus
asked.

    “Lay a trap,” Bakus replied with a
grin.

    “At a time when we will be pushed
against the wall?” Remus asked.

    “They will least expect us to use our
capital as a bait,” Bakus said, “I admit it is risky and I could get fired as a
general if I fail. But they won’t have sent a mere expeditionary force to
attack Nestor. If we smash this fleet, we could plausibly cripple the enemy and
go on the offensive.”

    “What is your battle plan?” Remus
asked.

    “Leave the four battleships orbiting
Nestor to face the initial assault,” Bakus said, “They have huge support from
ground batteries and the enemy won’t be operating at light speed so close to
the planet’s gravity field. I will bring in the remaining battleships from the
rear and hit them hard. But you will need to get all the battleships under my
command.”

    “I hope I can convince the Chancellor,”
Remus said.

    “By the way, what’s with the
Starfirians?” Bakus asked, “Are they sending any battleships to help us out?”

    “They are but I don’t know how many,”
Remus said, “They are due for arrival within the timeframe as these aliens.”

    “Doesn’t help us at all if they come
even a day late,” Bakus said, “Nevertheless I won’t count upon them.”

    “There is one piece of good news,”
Remus said, “our 34th Battleship is finished and I have decided to appoint you
the commander till the Republic is properly refurbished.”

    “That is great,” Bakus said, “What have
you named it?”

    “Battleship Avenger.”

    “The name fits its purpose,” Bakus
said, “We owe our explorers and miners who have been abducted from deep space
by these aliens. We avenge them in the coming battle.”

    There was a knock on the door of
officers’ quarters and they turned around to see officer Porkus Bellus waiting
with an eager look on his face.

    “What is it Porkus?” Bakus asked, “Any
new word from Whisper Station.”

    “Yes sir,” Porkus replied, “They were
able to identify one word from the alien signals used for their fleet
communications. The word could be cross referenced against chemical composition
and properties to identify it as Mercury.”

    “Mercury?” Bakus said, “So what? They
use Mercury as an industrial chemical in battleship components. That reveals no
military advantage. I want more than a single word.”

    “It is a lot more important than that,”
Porkus said, “They use it heavily in self-reference and call themselves The
Mercurian Empire.”

Commodore Raptor was walking down the grand
hallway of the Starship Conquistador towards the command room and the bridge
when he sighted Capitan Alvina walking from the other side. Her hair was lush
with slight waves and came down to her shoulder, her eyes sparkled and she had
a small mouth to go with her narrow cheekbones. She saluted him and was about
to pass him when Raptor stopped and said, “Capitan Alvina.”

    “Yes sir,” she stood at attention and
looked at him.

    “At ease,” Raptor said, “The laser
section performed well in the last battle.”

    “Thank you,” she replied, “Commodore,
can I ask you something?”

    “Go ahead,” Raptor said.

    “Were you in the same class in the
Space Warfare Academy with me?” Alvina asked.

    “I do remember seeing you,” Raptor
said, “but I don’t think we ever talked.” Raptor had always regretted not
working up the courage to speak to her beyond class matters.

    “I thought I knew you from the
Academy,” Alvina beamed a smile at him and Raptor’s heart fluttered a bit.

    “Capitan Alvina,” Raptor said, “I
checked your records, like I have done with all of my officers, and I see that
you were in logistics. How did you get into the weapons section?”

    “Sir, it is sort of personal,” Alvina
said.

    “I understand but it’s an Army matter,”
Raptor replied.

    “I started out in the weapons section,
as a junior laser officer,” Alvina replied, “but then I had a falling out with
Colonel Segwyk, my fiancé…”

    “Your fiancé!” Raptor felt his stomach
sink and his heart collapse.

    “My former fiancé,” Alvina corrected
herself and Raptor took a deep sigh of relief but without a show of emotion on
his face. “He had me demoted in anger when we parted ways.”

    “That’s ridiculous,” Raptor said, “You
should have filed an official complaint.”

    “He is one of the protégés of Commander
Carvyk,” Alvina said, “you understand I don’t want to start a political fight
with a Regional Star Commander.”

     Raptor was glad Alvina had bad blood
with Carvyk; at least he had found something in common with her to get himself
started.

    “Where is Col. Segwyk now?” Raptor
asked. It was a risqué question as he was getting deeper into the private
territory and could get rebuffed but he had to try to get closer to her and get
her to open up to him to establish more than a formal connection with her.

    “He is the Commodore of Starship
Masterpiece now,” Alvina replied, “and still very close to Com. Carvyk.”

    “Capitan Alvina,” Raptor said, “I want
to assure you that you don’t have to worry about your future now. This is my
ship and you are my officer now, I won’t allow either one of them to interfere
with your record.”

    “I hope you are careful, Carvyk is a
clever and powerful man,” Alvina said then hurriedly added, “I meant Com. Carvyk,
sir.”

    He liked that she was getting more
personal with him.

    “We have a war hero on our side now,
Com. Antrar,” Raptor said, “and after our next tactical maneuver a big can of
worms may open up for Carvyk,” Raptor didn’t care to show Carvyk any more
courtesy due a superior officer.

    “What are we going to attempt?” Alvina
asked.

    “You finish your break quickly and get
back to the command room,” Raptor said, “you will see.”

    “Yes sir,” she saluted him and walked
on. Raptor looked after her and her gait for a few seconds and then said, “And
Capitan Alvina,”

    She turned around to look at him.

    “Meet me in my personal quarters after
this is over,” Raptor said.

    She saluted him, smiled and walked
away. He wondered if her smile contained a hint of naughtiness in it as if she
recognized his heart's desire.

    Commodore Raptor walked into the
command room and all the officers, juniors and crew members stood up and
saluted him sharply.

    “What are Enemy One and Three doing?”
Raptor asked as he walked up to the central station and took his seat. Almost
all the officers had reassembled back in the command room after their breaks
and Antrar and VC Barryett were standing in front of the display and chatting.

    “Following us,” Horyett said, “But
maintaining a safe distance.”

    “Two of them by themselves aren’t going
to be able to take us,” Barryett said, “Unless they want to fight a suicidal
battle where they too are destroyed.”

    “Capitan Flyptar, put the spaceship on
the path to the sun and place us in an orbit,” Raptor said.

    “Yes sir,” Flyptar replied and his
junior flight officers turned the starship towards the large, red sun. They had
made it to the solar system a while back and their pursuers had picked up the
surviving crew floating in space after the destruction of Enemy Two and
returned on their tail. But they appeared hesitant and weren’t making any
aggressive moves.

    “Overyk, plot a course towards the sun
but then bring us out behind our enemies using the sun as cover,” Raptor said.

    “Computer is plotting,” Overyk said,
“We will have to go very near the sun for that.”

    “That is alright,” Raptor said, “We
will be switching full power to the shield for our maneuver anyhow.”

    “Enemy One and Three following us into
the sun,” Horyett said.

    “I hope we are not going in that…”
Antrar chuckled. He knew the room was tense especially those officers who were
informed in advance by Raptor of the maneuver he planned to execute.

    “Reporting for duty, sir,” Alvina and a
few other officers from the last batch to take a break said as they stepped
into the command room.

    “Get to your stations,” Raptor said,
“the battle will be joined soon.”

    “Starship Conquistador in a stable
orbit around the star,” Flyptar said, “Overyk, handing it over to you for the
navigation.”

    “Taking over,” Overyk said, “Enemy One
and Three are behind us but I doubt they know where we are. I am going to order
the computer to go vertical then do an inverted parabola roll behind them.”

    “Execute,” Raptor said.

    “Navigation computer engaged,” Overyk
said.

    The particular maneuver was hard to
execute perfectly for the pilots and the flight staff and near the sun it was
dangerous too. But the computer pulled their ship straight up in rapid
acceleration than flipped it like an inverted parabola into the rear of their
pursuers and again rapidly decelerated.

    “In position behind Enemy One and
Three,” Horyett said.

    “Create an energy reserve for rapid
acceleration,” Raptor said.

    “Reserve created,” Flyptar said.

    “All powers to forward shields,” Raptor
said.

    “Forward shields fully charged, added
extra layers,” shields officer Avyk said.

    “Enemy One and Three turning around to
face us,” Horyett said.

    “Engage the Commodore Override,” Raptor
said.

    “Commodore Override engaged,” AI
officer Zurryvk said, “computer fail safes disengaged.”

    There was a slight murmur amongst the
officers and the crew who hadn’t been informed in advance of their plan.

    “Quiet in the command room,” Barryett
roared and it was silence again.

    “Overyk, lock in on Enemy Three,”
Raptor said.

    “Navigation Computer locked on Enemy
Three,” Overyk said.

    “Sound the collision alarm,”

    “Collision alarm live,” Dorrvyk said
and red lights started flickering and a harsh alarm blared throughout the
entire starship announcing collision warning and ordering everyone to strap
themselves in the safety belts.

    “Accelerate and strike Enemy Three,”
Raptor said.

    “Accelerating,” Flyptar said and held
for dear life. He had been told in advance but that didn’t make it easier.    

    “Sir! Sir!” Alvina and a few other
officers and crew shouted who were kept in the dark. They panicked and thought
that they had misheard their Commodore.

    “Brace for impact,” Raptor said and
prepared himself mentally. If he was wrong, the shield would probably hold but
the impact would still cause significant damage.

    Starship Conquistador launched itself
like a shell out of a cannon straight into Enemy Three and then suddenly both
were thrown back in opposite directions with a rear jerk.

    The officers and crew abroad the
spaceships were first thrown forward and then jerked right back. They were
disheveled from the dual shocks but Raptor was quick to his senses.

    “Turn the starship 180 degrees, Capitan
Flyptar,” Raptor said.

    “Ship turning,” Flyptar said.

    “Accelerate light speed and beyond, all
power to the engines,” Raptor said.

    “Power switched to engines,” Flyptar
said.

    “Accelerate, I want safe-max hit 7,500
lights, fast, fast,” Raptor said.

    Flyptar and the flight crew kicked the
starship into rapid acceleration and it shot away from the Sun and started
putting huge distance between them and the enemy spaceships.

    “That is not possible!” Alvina
exclaimed and she appeared to be near tears, “That should not have happened.
Only another Starfire Starship would have our same magnetic fail-safe…”

    Raptor did not want to say anything to
her and he looked at Col. Tollvyk.

    “Capitan Alvina, compose yourself and
hold steady,” Tollvyk said, “No time or place for speculation.”

    Alvina looked back into her computer
but there was no task for her and she was thinking the same thoughts as
everyone else in the command room.

    The final fail-safe – Electromagnetic
Polar Collision Aversion System – had come alive at the last moment. When two
Starfire spaceships were in danger of colliding, this system generated massive
electromagnetic force and created equal magnetic polarity into the two ends of
the ships on the verge of striking each other. A north – north magnetic poles
opposite to each other would repel the two spaceships away and instantly kick
in a rear jerk from the emergency thrusters. This system was installed in all
the Starships of Starfire Empire.

    Commodore Raptor knew that everyone in
the command room was stunned including himself. They all knew about this fail –
safe system, everybody who had ever stepped in a spaceship knew, as it was
standard for both military and civilian vessels. Him and Antrar had suspicions
but the confirmation did not make it any easier. He looked at Antrar who was
shaking his head. Someone in their own Army wanted to sabotage their mission
and was willing to go to the extent of launching an attack. And he felt bad for
destroying one of their own Starships. He wondered if the officers and the crew
abroad that spaceship knew what they were doing and who their target was or if
they were just following orders.

    Raptor had to get his officers’ mind
into the task again. Somebody would pay and pay dearly for this but first he
had a mission to fulfill.

    “Capitan Horyett,” Raptor said, “What
are Enemy One and Three doing?”

    “Enemy Three managed to kick in
deceleration before being plunged into the Sun,” Horyett said, “But they must
have consumed massive amounts of power to counter a star’s gravity at close
distance. I don’t think it will have the energy left to catch up to us.”

    “And Enemy One won’t try on its own,” Barryett
said, “We can easily chew out a lone ship and they know it after our last
battle.”

    Raptor stood up and looked at
everyone’s face, “Attention,” he said. “I know what you just witnessed is very
hard to accept. It appears that parts of our own Army are working against us,
even attacking us,” Raptor watched everyone look at him. He took a look at
Alvina and she had visible fear on her face. “But we have a mission to fulfill.
We must help the Nestorians. They are our protectorate and abandoning them would
dishonor the Starfire Empire. But I promise you, after this is all done; I will
personally take this Starship and strike right into the homes of whoever is
responsible.”

    The crew nodded their heads in
affirmation and support.

    “I am putting a secrecy order on the
knowledge of this event and the data our machines collected,” Raptor said, “It
doesn’t go out beyond this room without my prior authorization. I don’t want a
collapse of morale in our ranks. Me, VC Barryett and the Army Detective team
abroad will get to the bottom of it. I want full focus and concentration on our
mission from the rest of you.”

    The officers went back to their
stations and desks and buried themselves in their work. They felt unease but
there was nothing for them to do and a secrecy order from a commodore forbade
all talk of it even amongst themselves.