Chapter 1
TODAY had started off so normal, how had one hour changed all of that?
Cody Tilghman had woken from his bunk just like every morning for the past six months. He had gone to get his coffee and breakfast in the mess hall of the space station, along with the thousands of others who inhabited the space station. This was followed by relieving Cadet Christpher Burris at his monitoring station. Chris was on the night shift to monitor space activity in the region, alerting planetary control and space station security of all ships coming into the area, making sure that all the signatures were in order. Not normally part of Cody’s duties, he was filling in on different jobs each month.
Cody was a planner. He was making the preparations for settlement on a new planet. It must be terraformed, so the conditions had to be right for transformation, and it must be large enough to support many people. It was a civilian job, but he had wanted to experience the life of those aboard ships, since he would need ship’s system knowledge to begin operations and maintenance of the new settlement. Hence, his filling in on various areas each month. This was his second week as a monitor. Routine, but occasionally you came across a smuggler, which could be an entertaining game of cat and mouse.
Selected for his high IQ and not having any family ties. Planning was a job that the Directorate wanted no distractions from those in charge. Attention needed to be razor focused. Personally, he had commitment issues. However, professionally, once he started a project, there was nothing else. At thirty-four, he was the perfect age for them. Not too old to handle the intense stress of the detailed planning, not so young that he thought that he knew everything. Arrogance was a danger, as it would lead to small details being overlooked, yet he needed to be confident enough in his abilities to trust his mind.
He was finishing his second sweep after having approved a merchant vessel to approach the station. Watching the vessel expertly slow and cruise into the open docking bay doors, he made sure that everything went smoothly.
“Merchant Peres you will remain in your vessel until security has inspected your cargo. They will provide you with further instructions for your stay on the Veridion station. Enjoy your time here.” Cody directed the pilot of the Merideth Bent, before switching off his comms.
A bleep alerted him of a new ship exiting warp into a restricted area near the planet. Haskins was not a large planet, but it was a bustling one. It was overcrowded and was the only inhabited planet in the system, so it was always busy with crews that needed some rest and relaxation between systems, as well as many merchants. Lately, it had been under threat by an aggressive space race who wanted the wealth that their planet held. The Jaggru, were lizard aliens who did not follow the rules of the Galactic Trade Cooperation, which was the peace and trade agreement commonly recognized by most alien races across the known galaxies.
The bleep indicated the signature of a Jaggru scouting vessel. They had been conducting increased raids upon vessels in the region of late, but they had never entered the restricted space of the planet before. It was a daring move that would activate the planetary defense systems. Leaning his six-foot frame back in his chair, he informed his commander.
“Admiral McCinney. We have one Jaggru scouting ship in sector five-B. Planetary defense systems have been activated. What are your orders, ma’am?”
Admiral McCinney was a no-nonsense woman who had worked her way from the bottom of the navy to the top. At fifty, she was the youngest admiral in command. Dragging her monitor in front of her chair, she studied the ship’s information. Her curly short brown hair barely moved as she touched the jagged scar above her right ear, a memento of a scrap with the Jaggru.
“Seems like a harmless vessel, but the Jaggru know better than that. They are in the way of ships leaving Haskins.”
Without turning her head from the screen, she ordered Lieutenant Warren to issue a warning. Her narrow face had lips that always seemed to be in the shape of a frown, making her look angry all the time.
Lieutenant Warren was the opposite. He always seemed jovial and upbeat. Everyone loved the parties that he threw each weekend. Touching a button, he spoke into his mic. His baritone voice barked a warning at the Jaggru scout. He had a smooth way of speaking, great for singing, and talking over the communicator. A series of chirps followed in response, clearly the Jaggru pilot did not appreciate his charming personality. The translator chips told of the defiant response. Turning away from his weapons station, he tilted his head at the Admiral. His white teeth flashed a smile.
“I don’t think that they are leaving, ma’am.”
His long black fingers hovered over the laser systems, waiting for the command to forcefully remove the ship. Dozens of bleeps erupted from Cody’s monitor and more Jaggru warships exited warp behind the scout. Another set of bleeps alerted of warp signatures gathering behind the station. The signatures were of at least fifty battleships in the restricted area and another forty destroyers about to exit warp to the right of the space station.
“Uh, Admiral we have a major problem here. Those are S class battleships with weapons activated, fifty-four is the computers final count. They are launching fighters, at least four hundred.”
An expletive left her mouth. “Haskins security, activate all defense systems. Shields up and get the war ships off the planet, now!” Turning to Lieutenant Warren, “Get our shields up and begin firing at will.” Shifting her gaze to a security officer, she barked another order, “Mark take over Cody’s station, I want an estimate on what that group of warp signatures to our right is packing.”
Before Cody could get up, the forty destroyers dropped out of warp. Weapons hot. The station shook violently as the shields took a giant hit from dozens of torpedoes launched at once. The slender security officer was sent sprawling across the command deck, his blonde crew cut head cracking loudly against a handrail. Slumped on the deck, blood oozed from a gash on the top of his scalp. Everyone else grabbed their stations to remain upright. The metallic scent of blood filled their nostrils. A small red-headed female medic rushed down to tend to the fallen officer.Cody, nervously ran his fingers though his ear-length brown hair, sweat trickling down his brow. Learning the systems in peace was one thing, but under fire, that was a whole new level.
Warren and another weapons officer were working their stations furiously, firing lasers and torpedoes at the destroyers in response, as two-hundred more fighters shot from the destroyer’s bay docks. Ships were launching from Haskins, but they were engaging with the fighters and battleships in sector five-B. The space station on the far side of the planet was firing at the same group. Apparently, it was their station that was being attacked and not the other defense station.
Another singular large signature was appearing near the planet. Systems could not identify the vessel type, but it was massive. What was that? He wracked his brain for known Jaggru ship designs and classes but came up empty. Nothing was as large as this signature, not even their space stations. His blue eyes scanned the second station monitor as he searched for ships that could match. Still nothing.
Weapons were being fired in all directions at once. From both Saderian and Jaggru forces. Cody monitored their own station ships engaging with the fighters of the Jaggru fleet. Admiral McCinney was issuing commands at every member of the crew on the officer’s deck. Cody heard his name shouted as he was ordered to vacate his station and another security officer tapped him on the shoulder. As he stood up, he confirmed the station transfer over to Petty Officer Dwyer.
“Monitoring station transferred, command code five-seven-nine-zero-two.” Stepping to the side, he glanced at the busy Admiral. “Admiral, I have to warn you, a massive unknown vessel is about to enter the battlefield in sector five-E. Whatever that ship is, it dwarfs even our station. I have no idea how such a ship could withstand warp. No ship designs are a match. We have a new ship, meaning its classified by Jaggru command. That can’t be a good thing.”
“Thank you, Cody. Its time that you get yourself to the Bradley. Give the order for all settlers to get to that ship. The terraformer must survive. We will keep them busy, you get Captain Rooke and that ship as far away from here as possible.”
Her attention directed back to her crew, and they continued to fight. She was a master strategist, directing fighters and fleet ships around, like an orchestra. Alarms were blaring loudly, and red lights were flashing hauntingly. The medic scurried back to her station, having put a sheet over the fallen officer who had not survived his head trauma.
Cody gave an affirmation that he knew was not even noticed. Glancing at the view screen, he could see that several of the destroyers had exploded and fighters from both sides were disappearing in bursts of flames.
Cody rushed towards the command doors, when he heard the Admiral shout, “Brace!”
Without little warning, Cody had just enough time to grab onto the handrail next to the fallen security officer, before the entire deck rocked and flames erupted from one of the shield stations, sending the muscular crew member flying from his seat. Pain seared up his left arm as he fought from being flung across the deck himself. Now he had two dead crew members at his feet. Stepping his medium built frame over the two bodies, he couldn’t help but glance down nervously.
As he regrouped, the Admiral shouted, “Keep firing. Shields update! Deck update! In that order.”
The aroma of burned flesh joined the electrical smoke that was clouding the entire deck. Air systems kicked in to vent the area. As Cody continued towards the exit, he could hear updates from various crew.
“Shields at sixty percent, planetary shielding at seventy-five percent.”
“We lost torpedoes thirty-five through forty-five, and lasers twenty through thirty-two.”
“Decks three, seven, twenty and twenty-five have sustained heavy damage. Life support on those decks is failing. Ordering immediate evacuation to the inner sanctums.”
The inner sanctums were like ancient castle keeps. It’s where medical and food facilities were kept, and the safe area that civilians were ordered to when things got too dangerous. In all his years living on Haskins, Cody had never seen a battle like this before.
As he reached the exit doors, he heard another expletive from the officer who had relieved him.
“What the heck is that thing?”
He took a final glance at the view screen and instantly wished that he hadn’t. A cold chill ran down his spine. A ship two times larger than their space station had finished exiting warp into sector five-E. It was a snakehead like vessel. An eery look to the front, just like snake eyes, only these were glowing red.
“Some kind of laser weapon is powering up from the, um, eyes? Still not registering a class type nor what that weapon system is, but it appears to be aimed at the other defense station.”
“Sorry Harry, we have our own battles to fight, we don’t have the resources to help them as well. What is that thing?” Admiral McCinney shouted, then noticed through the clearing smoke that Cody was still there. “Cody, go! Now!”
Breaking his trance, Cody shot through the doors into the elevator.
“Computer, loading dock twelve. No other stops.”
As he felt the elevator transport him to the loading dock, the station was rocked by another blast. Grabbing the railing, he barely remained standing.
“Computer, issue station-wide announcement, special clearance code beta-four-seven-two-five-three-zero.”
“Clearance code recognized, proceed civilian planner Cody Tilghman.”
“All settlers proceed to the Bradley. Do not grab anything. Proceed in an orderly manner immediately. Captain Rooke, prepare ship’s systems for immediate launch. Secure the terraformer. We will be leaving systems hot. You all have ten minutes to board the ship, or the ship will be placed in lockdown. This is not a drill. This is what we trained for. Computer initiate ten-minute settler departure countdown. Cody Tilghman out.”
“Ten-minute countdown initiated.”
They had all prepared for emergencies like this and run drills. Protocols were in place, but the real thing was something else. His left arm was tingling and felt like sharp needles were jabbing up and down his limb. Glancing at the arm he could see why. Metal protruded from his left shoulder, blood oozing down his arm and he assumed his back as well. Burns pockmarked his hand and many parts of his normally pristine uniform. That would have to be dealt with once they were clear of the battlefield. The rail that he was gripping was already a sticky mess.
Bay doors opened as he reached the loading dock. Organized chaos, that was the scene in front of him. A deep breath and he was ready for whatever was coming. Stepping forward, he joined a group of settlers exiting another elevator next to him. Three couples moved toward the Bradley, five scared kids cried as they clasped their parents’ hands. Each pair also carried their emergency go-bags. Their planning was paying off. The couples appeared nervous but determined.
Many more civilians emerged and were all filing towards the ship. The crew members of the Bradley, as well as dock workers were helping the settlers get up the loading ramp. More dock workers raced about making final preparations for the ship’s departure. Twelve warships assigned to the defense of the terraforming ship were also in final preparations. Vehicles were loading weapons and final supplies onto each daunting vessel.
The computer announced a time update. “Settler departure in eight minutes.”
Smoke billowed from parts of the loading dock that were damaged. Red lights still flashed and instructions for various damaged decks to evacuate to the inner sanctums rang out, echoing in the loading bays. Some merchants were arguing with security, wanting to board their vessels and leave. This was not their battle. That could provide the distraction that they needed when they blasted their way out of this sector.
Tapping the communicator on his chest, he spoke to Captain Rooke.
“Captain Rooke, tell security in all loading bays to allow the merchants and tourists to enter their vessels. They are all going to be given clearance to leave the station when we leave. We will follow in behind them. With two-hundred merchant vessels all leaving at once, it will be difficult for the Jaggru to pinpoint weapons fire upon our fleet. It may be the edge that we need to get out of this alive.”
Captain Rooke confirmed and relayed the orders.
Admiral McCinney’s strained voice entered his earpiece. “Tilghman, using them as bait is not exactly ethical, but we are not going to make it here. Them leaving with you, may give these civilians a chance to escape. The station will be evacuated once you are clear. Those reaching the inner sanctums are being loaded into escape pods as we speak. All non-essential crew are already on their way there, along with all civilians. You are also being assigned twenty more crew members of various duties to your ship, along with twenty to each of your warships. The other station fell with three blasts from that beast of a ship. It seems to need to recharge after each shot, which will buy us some time. Get out fast, and good luck.”
Entering the Bradley with his group of settlers, he nodded to the security personnel. Looking concernedly at his arm, they stepped forward. Waving them off with a shake of his head, Cody made his way to the officer’s deck. As the doors opened, he could not help but notice the calm that all the crew were operating with. Captain Harry Rooke was one of the best leaders that he had ever known.
Looking at the view screen, he could see the battle outside the station. Many Jaggru fighters and destroyers had been wiped out, but at least half of their force was still entangled with the station warships and fighters. Notably, the station weapon systems were much weaker than they had been before, at least two-thirds had been eliminated. Admiral McCinney was correct. The station was not going to survive this. Thousands would be lost, and thousands more if they could not get those escape pods to safety.
Captain Rooke stood as he noticed Cody, his six-foot-five-inch muscled bulk towering in the large command deck.
“Cody, most of the settlers are on board their vessels. The additional crew have just boarded each ship. We should be ready to proceed in three minutes. Two minutes ahead of schedule.” Noticing Cody’s arm, he cocked his head, his wavy black hair shifting. “Station is taking a real beating, so is the planet. You should get that arm seen to.”
He never once broke his calm and collected demeanor. Sitting back down in his captain’s chair, he went back to making sure preparations were being finalized. Brown eyes scanned screen after screen. At forty-three, he had established himself as a brilliant strategist and the best leader Haskins had in their navy.
As a tall male medical officer grabbed his arm and sat him down, Cody felt pressure on his left arm in a few spots. The medics were applying numbing sprays to the area around the metal shard, preparing to remove it. Looking back to the captain, he ignored the medics at work.
“What is the status of the station and the planet? The Admiral was vague.”
Pausing his screen tapping, Rooke shook his head. “She was vague because this really is the end. That massive ship is taking a beating, but from what I can tell, Haskins will not survive many more blasts from that laser. This station will most certainly be gone in another ten minutes. We have to be fast.”
As the captain confirmed that the last of the settlers had boarded the ship, he ordered the ramp sealed and that the fleet prepare to launch. They were going to be firing on all cylinders, literally. All guns would be focusing on blasting a hole in the Jaggru forces large enough for them to slip through. Veridion would launch all escape pods while the Bradley and its dozen warships left with all the merchant ships. Admiral McCinney would be providing covering fire while some pods, merchant ships and hopefully their fleet, would make it through. Many would be lost, but any escape pods who made it through would be instructed to land on the planet that they intended to terraform, with beacons on, so that they could collect them. Word came through that only seven pods had made it through successfully from the other station. Which meant at least ten thousand had perished when counting the merchants and tourists.
Wincing as a tight pinch shot down his spine, the piece of metal was pulled out. A clang indicated it being dropped into a pan. The medics now worked on cleaning the wound and sterilizing it, before closing it with a laser treatment. A scar would remain, but not as bad as when they used to use stitches on wounds. Humming indicated that the engines had come online, and a surge of power shot through the ship as they prepared to engage.
“You and your fleet are cleared for launch, Captain Rooke. Release the merchant and tourist vessels. Launch escape pods in thirty seconds. God speed, it has been a pleasure to have served with you all.” Admiral McCinney’s pain-filled voice came from the speakers, followed by another blast striking the station.
Smoke billowed from the back of the loading bay, followed by flames. Emergency crews were working on containing it.
The view screen switched to the loading bay. Hundreds of merchant and tourist ships poured from the many loading bays. Explosions indicated many of them falling victim to the Jaggru forces.
Focused, the captain stared straight ahead and calmly spoke, “Engage engines, Ensign Dolan. Fleet wide announcement, engage engines and guide the way. We will follow your lead. Clear us a path. We are weapons hot the moment that we clear those doors.”
It was moments like these that made Rooke thankful that he was divorced with no kids.
The rest of their war fleet proceeded through the loading bay doors behind the last of the civilian ships. Most of the merchant vessels had minor weapons and were already trying to shoot their way free. Tourist ships were using speed to weave between fighters. As Dolan used her deft fingers to exit through the bay doors, she laid in the next commands to keep the formation in a classic triangle. Spear heading through the barricade was the plan. Meanwhile, the tall weapons specialist, Lieutenant Ians, and his team began firing weapons. Medics finished with his shoulder and grabbed their seats. The ship rocked as the first blast struck them and the pan with his metal shard clattered to the deck floor loudly. No one flinched except the three medics.
While the main screen focused on the heated battle in front of them, a secondary screen showed hundreds of escape pods launch from the station. The station itself had smoke and holes covering it from top to bottom. Metal shards and bodies floated in space around the defense and merchant station. Another blast eliminated a loading bay. A renewed array of torpedoes and lasers shot from the station focusing just in front of the escape pods, removing many enemy fighters. This allowed at least half the escape pods to enter warp, the other half were wiped out by Jaggru fighters and destroyers. A large fireball erupted as the station imploded. Cody gasped. He had enjoyed serving under the Admiral, however briefly. She was the best officer that he had ever known.
“Fairwell, Admiral. Thank you for your sacrifice.” The captain uttered.
Concentration of firing on a nearby section of the barricade caused a gap that they had hoped for to open. Two of their warships had been hit badly and in an almost slow-motion scene the heavily damaged warships moved down simultaneously. Fighters who could not get out of the way, blew up on sections of the warships. Two Jaggru destroyers were in the way of the drifting warships and realized their new threat too late. Both of the warships crashed into two different destroyers. Rippling explosions took out fighters from both sides. Another nearby destroyer’s shields failed from being too close. The fleet’s lead warship targeted the vulnerable enemy, and they watched as each deck crumpled. A damaged warp core vaporized the vessel. It left a large hole in the barricade, and they pressed through it. Blinding orange filled the viewscreen as they pressed through the flames and metal shards.
Another fireball showed on the secondary screen as the massive Jaggru ship launched another laser blast at the planet. Haskins evaporated. Dirt, rock and other debris shot in all directions and in the process the debris took out the colossal Jaggru ship and many of the ships fighting in sector five-C from both combatants. Cody gasped loudly and let out a sorrowful sigh. Billions had just perished, including his sister and her family. Robert and Trudy Dickens, you will be missed. He fought back tears thinking of her and his two nieces, Sheri and Karly. No one had anticipated the planet being destroyed when this plan was concocted. Best laid plans and all that. Shaking his head, he knew that he needed to remain focused on the task at hand. The crew was clearly shaken, but Captain Rooke remained calm.
“All ships engage warp, now!”
Two more of their warships shook before explosions spread throughout them. A ship shot out from the loading bay of one of them.
A loud voice bellowed, “Better go! I got these guys.”
The captain chuckled as the scene disappeared behind them. White filled all screens as they took off into a warp stream.
“Trust Talon to make it out of a warship and get out in a fighter. Dan Talon is the best fighter ace Haskins has ever seen. I doubt we will ever have the pleasure of talking again.”
Looking around the deck, he gave orders. “Assessment. How much damage did we sustain and how many of us made it through?”
Lieutenant Ians did not look up from his screen, so his black hair was all that Cody saw as he responded in a robotic tone, “We only took a couple of hits, no damage, shields held at ninety-five percent. Four warships got through with us. The Newcomb, Black, Pierce, and the Doan. I don’t have a complete count on escape pods or fighters for that matter. Over one hundred small warp signatures are travelling with us. Most are ahead of us, but there are some behind.”
Closing his eyes briefly, the captain left a moment of silence for the lost.
“We got hit hard. Our ship and four other warships. We are less than half of our strength. Our terraforming needs to succeed. We won’t have much to protect our settlement from space intrusion. We will need to figure out how to do repairs in orbit. What we can’t fix, we will have to go one a time to the nearest space port and commission complete repairs. We might even find some mercenaries willing to help us guard. Problem with mercs is that they are expensive and can be bought off against us as well. Our location needs to be kept top secret, so anyone going to spaceports will need to be silent. That means no liquor when in spaceport. Alcohol loosens lips. Lieutenant Ians, make sure that message goes to each of the ships, including the fighters and escape pods.” After repeating the message a reply can back, “I hear you Rooke. Am I too late to the party? Got out after you went to warp, noticed a few fighters from the other battles go to warp towards old Pickard station. I imagine that they will not be joining us on this mission but will try to keep that station and mining settlement safe.”
A smile crept onto Captain Rooke’s face, “Dan frigging Talon. I did not expect to hear your voice again. Glad to have you with us. How far behind us are you?”
A crackle, “I went to warp about five minutes after you did, along with twenty-one other fighters who let me lead them. Something about my being the best pilot in universe.”
Captain Rooke laughed. “He always was a cocky prick, but sadly, he isn’t wrong.”
Speaking with Talon again, “I don’t know about the best, but you are right up there. How many do you think made it from the other two battles? And they all headed towards our mining settlement on Jones?”
Another pause and crackle, “Couldn’t just give me that one? After I lasted five minutes without your warships? Kept them busy. Seriously though, probably had fifty or so fighters escape that mess and head there, yeah. The Jaggru took quite a pelting, don’t think that went how they thought that it would. From the size of that force, it was more than ninety percent of their naval forces involved in that attack. Don’t think they intended to blow our planet up. Their new toy was clearly more powerful than they figured. The toy that no longer exists. Before I left, I scanned their forces. Seven battleships left, heavily damaged, four destroyers, also heavily damaged, and less than seventy fighters. They wiped us out, but for a supposedly superior technological race, I would say that they did not fair so well.”
“At least that is something. They won’t be able to track us down very quickly if that’s the case. They will have to limp their way back home and do major repairs. To protect their home from all their enemies, they will need years to rebuild that navy. Any sign of pursuit, Talon?”
“Let me do another scan here.” Silence for a minute. “No Cap, no pursuit. Just us chickens out here. You can slow down a bit and us fighters will land on your warships. I will dock on the Bradley, if that’s alright with you.”
“Sure, then you can tell me how you got out of your warship and survived a battle with far superior forces. You ought to love that. Meet you in the docking bay, Major.”
Captain Rooke turned to Ians. Looking into his grey eyes, he gave a vengeful order.
“Launch ten broadcast beacons to the known enemies of the Jaggru. Let them know how vulnerable they are right now. Maybe someone else will pay them a visit and return the favour. Slow us to warp four, get those fighters and escape pods onto our warships. Sounds like twenty-two fighters and ninety-seven escape pods. Divided between our four warships and the Bradley it will crowd our bays, but they will be more comfortable in our quarters. Some people will have to camp out in the pods, as we won’t have enough space, but most can find beds on the ship. Find beds in our five ships for around twenty-five-hundred more people. Get ready to share quarters. We are all going to get to know each other very well.”
Shifting attention to Ensign Dolan, “Dolan, go check on your husband Kirby, get his engineering update. Then make sure that your kids are safe. Send in your replacement and get some rest. We may need you with some sleep if the Jaggru show up again.”
