Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (63 page)

A third planet killer seemed to laugh at the
petty attempts to stop it, lurching side-to-side and spinning
randomly, causing the green and purple beams to always strike where
the Planet Killer had just been...and the few that hit, brushed
aside with a scoffing laugh. A dreadnaught closed rapidly in on the
path of the stubborn Planet Killer, and to Trent's surprise, both
Knight Captain Quinn and Vice-Commander Daiyu stood, saluting,
tears storming down their cheeks. Trent looked closer at the
dreadnaught that now stood directly in the path of the Planet
Killer; the TSB Reverie.

The Planet Killer attempted to change course
at the last moment, but the TSB Reverie was too big, and the moment
it struck the starship, time slowed. The flashing icon vanished,
and hope of the inevitable being turned away filled his heart when
the dreadnaught’s blue dot didn’t follow immediately. But that hope
extinguished, the TSB officers falling into a mournful melody, to
send the lost souls that had sacrificed their lives for Earth, on
their final journey.

The fourth Planet Killer weaved between the
frigates, corvettes, and cruiser that dove into its path, shedding
off fire like it didn't exist. But the moment it was about to break
through the atmosphere, his heart screaming all was lost, ten TSB
starships, cruisers and corvettes, pulled into its path, vanishing
as the Planet Killer adjusted course, well wide of Earth’s last
hope.

“Oh n-,” he started to cry, but stumbled over
his tongue when the flashing icon vanished.

“They purposely collapsed their neutron star
drives,” Sasha wept, “such horror...” her voice breaking, tears
flowing relentlessly down her bloodless cheeks. Trent held back his
own. He would honor these men and women who so bravely sacrificed
their lives for others, and cry for them later. The cheers on the
bridge suddenly turned to screams of horror as everyone's eyes
beheld the last Planet Killer vanishing from the CID as it broke
through Earth's atmosphere, frigates and corvettes diving
desperately in pursuit...but it was all in vain.

“All starships, retreat! I repeat, all
starships, retreat! Now!”

Time slowed as Trent watched, with disbelief,
as the projection of Earth seemed to ripple towards the spot the
Planet Killer had struck. The ripple turned into a wave as a tiny
black dot formed in the center of the Pacific Ocean, sucking the
light out of the surrounding blue water and the clouds out of the
very sky. The spot grew larger as clouds or earth ripped free,
swirling through the atmosphere, to vanish into the growing
darkness, the ocean draining alongside. With rising horror he
watched, unable to turn away, as the west coast of North America
sank, then vanished. The east coast of Asia followed, crumbling
free, rolling through the now empty ocean.

Then, in almost an instant, the rest of the
planet curled into the spot of infinite night, the ABF Alutia
shaking as it too started to get pulled in, desperately trying to
escape the deathly grasp of the Planet Killer’s wake. Trent
continued watching, his eyes glued to the horrific sight, as the
last of Earth vanished into the black void that had begun
collapsing in on itself. Within seconds, it was over.

The Earth was gone...his past...his
people...and the only home he'd ever known...gone forever.

In the utter incredulity of the sight before
him, his mind began to tear apart.
It isn't true, it couldn't be
true.
He felt something inside him trying to break loose,
something telling him to scream...to stand and shout...to yell at
this farce, at this....at this...sick and cruel joke.
Why would
they show him this...this fantasy ...did they hate him so? There
was no way the Earth was destroyed.
He looked at Sasha, ready
to scream, ready to shout, to demand she tell him why they were
torturing him...why they were forcing him to face such a
nightmare.

The look he received in return made him
forget everything.

Her face contorted in horrible
sadness...sobbing tears of truth flowing down her cheeks. It was
real...they were dead...everyone on Earth...was dead. He embraced
her tightly, ignoring the pain as the two of them collapsed to the
floor, crying in each other's arms. A distant shout matched their
cries, Trent barely hearing its words...but clearly understanding
their meaning.

“All starships pursue the butchers! Aim for
their drive cores! Leave no survivors!” Knight Admiral Bhool's
voice trailed off in his mind.

Yes, leave no survivors
...it is the
only gift they could provide the souls of the billions of men,
women, and children who had just perished at the whim of a
madman.

The screams of horror burned into
Daniel's
mind as the image of the Earth
collapsing into the singularity created by the Planet Killer
shimmered above the bridge’s CID.

“Engine's full and try to stay together!”
Captain Aysi shouted. But they were too close, he knew. The immense
gravity well created by the Planet Killer would suck them in
alongside Earth, like a cruel joke played on those who had survived
the battle in space.

But they fought against their fates.

The remaining starships of the TSB fleet,
minus the TSB Reverie, who placed itself in a Planet Killer’s path
while the crew sang of honor over life, and the other 12 TSB
starships that followed its example.
Better them,
he thought
to himself, the TSB Ero'Cia bucking like a wild bronco, trying to
avoid the inevitable fate of being compressed within the collapsing
singularity.

Everything went silent, the lights on the
bridge fading to black, and Daniel preparing to accept whatever end
was to come.

“Not yet, Daniel, you still have a task,”

His eyes shot open to the CID projection
showing the final moments of the singularity gobbling up the Earth,
before fully collapsing in on itself, leaving most of the remaining
TSB and ABF starships intact.

It was over and he survived.

“All starships pursue the butchers! Aim for
the drive cores! Leave no survivors!” The order broke over all
communication channels. Daniel felt his relief evaporate.
It
should be over, why should more lives be needlessly
sacrificed?

“Helm, you heard the knight admiral, fall
into a pursuit course! Tactical, continue firing at will! I want
all their heads!” Captain Aysi shouted with primal fury.

“You bloody fools,” Daniel cursed under his
breath, analyzing the chaotic scene unfolding on his tactical
display.

The enemy starships retreated the moment the
Planet Killers were released, but most were still well within
weapons range. Apparently, thinking the friendly ABF and TSB
starships would be destroyed alongside Earth, they had decided on a
distant rendezvous, leaving most of the starships vulnerable and
isolated. The TSB and ABF fleet commanders began forming into a
staggered formation, allowing the TSB and ABF starships to
concentrate their fire to lethal effect.

“Fire plasma cannon!” A wall of plasma
accelerated across space from the nose of the Ero’Cia, catching an
unsuspecting capital ship in the rear as it tried to maneuver at
the last moment. Its ESS failed and the starship broke apart in a
hail of LPA fire, the collapsing containment confirming there were
no survivors.

A group of the screening corvettes and
frigates started decelerating, lowering their energy shield's while
spinning in place...the sign for surrender. Daniel winced as the
starships exploded as one, more LPA beams then required slicing
through their unprotected hulls. It wasn't that Daniel cared about
the crewmen onboard those ill-fated starships, but it did seem a
little extreme to blame these vessels for what their commanders had
done.

The rest of the enemy starships, having
witnessed the destruction of their surrendering comrades, broke
away like a pack of startled gazelles, accelerating at full speed
in all directions, away from the formation of death that pursued
them. All thoughts of rendezvousing were lost, leaving the larger
starships, who were unable to reach a similar acceleration as fast
as their smaller brethren, to retreat on their own,
unprotected.

Two battleships and a dreadnaught turned,
bringing their plasma cannons to bear, deciding against continued
retreat. Plasma beams from the friendly ABF capital ships tore
through the dreadnaught as the friendly ABF battleships, cruisers,
corvettes, and frigates concentrated fire on the two battleships.
Before they succumb, their fire took two friendly ABF cruisers and
four frigates unaware, breaking through energy shields, cutting the
hulls to pieces like they were constructed of cardboard. One lucky
cruiser veered off at the last minute, falling out of formation,
spewing atmosphere, heavily damaged.

The battle continued nonstop for almost an
hour. The larger starships that couldn't escape were hunted, one by
one, until all that remained within range was the last
super-capital that had left the standard system plane, hoping to
put itself out of weapons range as its fellows were mercilessly
hunted to extinction. It almost succeeded, but the TSB and ABF
fleet were able to match the change of course and stay within max
weapons range.

A fierce battle ensued, streams of LPA beams
shooting across space to paint the universe itself a solid green.
But the outcome was already decided. The super-capitals ESS failed
as the torrent of LPA fire continued unabated, slicing her to
pieces. A lucky shot caught the NSD core and the ship
imploded...all hands lost.

Daniel sighed relief as the last of the
targets faded from his display. It was over and he was alive. The
thought of shouting for joy vanished on his lips as the officers
around him broke down in an ocean of tears.

“Helm, set course for the TSB Fleet Base. The
rest of you are dismissed, spend your time how you like, but never
forget those who died this day,” Captain Aysi’s orders were void of
all emotion, the fire of the past five hour battle having burned
through even her stoic facade. A vice gripped his shoulder and he
winced, turning to find the stone cold gaze of Lt.-Commander
Xi.

“You will come with me,” Xi ordered, eyes as
unemotional as her tone. Daniel cringed, knowing that all Xi’s
anger, all her hatred, would soon be felt by him.

He stood like a zombie, shuffling slowly
behind her, resigned to his current fate, but knowing well now that
the Earth was gone, the TSB would soon follow.

“The time draws near,” he smirked at the
voice, who spoke only truth, he started thinking of a going away
present, one that would destroy the man responsible for everything,
“even, Daniel, for the destruction of Earth.”

The man named Trent.

“Sasha,” Tiana whimpered, glancing at the
doorway leading to the outer corridor.

“She will come, Tiana, worry not,” Vickie
assured from her side, sipping her Etique like the starship hadn’t
felt like it would break apart at the seams, less than a half-hour
before.

“But,” Tiana, on the other hand, couldn’t
help but worry, “I think we should check the medical bay, just in
case, she may have-”

“Tiana,” Vickie grabbed her chin, glaring at
her like an errant child, “concern for ones lady is a wonderful
trait, but you will drive yourself mad if you do not trust her.
Word would have reached us by now if something was amiss, I assure
you, and I believe Sasha, though neither you nor her seem to
realize this fact, is strong enough to stand on her own,” Vickie
grinned, allowing her fingers to fall, brushing Tiana’s neck,
“though I would be more than happy to place your mind at ease, dear
Tiana, once I have Til’Ma place Regalia to bed, of course,” she
glanced down to the young girl, sleeping fitfully upon Vickie’s
lap.

“That is quite enough, Lady Vickie,” Tiana
slapped her hand away just before it could creep within her
cleavage.

“Oh my, that will not do, Tiana,” Vickie
acted the utmost offended lady. “After I helped calm you so, do I
not deserve a gift?” Tiana could only sigh in response, realizing
she did feel better, but unwilling to provide the type of “gift”
Vickie would require.

The door slid open and Tiana rushed to her
feet. Sasha, arm around Trent, who looked worse than Tiana
remembered, stumbled through the door. She rushed to Sasha’s side,
beyond happy to see her friend safe, and with Gil’Da and Til’Ma’s
assistance, escorted Trent into the bedchamber. Once he was seated
the two servants took over and the ladies removed themselves to the
door.

Sasha stumbled, collapsing to her knees with
a cry. Tiana froze, having only once before heard Sasha sing such a
sorrowful tone. She quickly knelt alongside, placing an arm around
her friend, Vickie rushing to the other.

“Sasha, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“They did it,” she sobbed, but no tears
emerged, eyes already puffy and red, “we...we tried to stop
them...but they still did it...”

“Earth it...it is gone.”

The air exploded from her lungs, like an
immense weight had struck her head on. She remembered hearing
Knight High-Admiral Baric threaten to destroy the Earth, but she
hadn't really believed him, thought it was some sort of bluff.
Who could sacrifice so many people so calmly?
Tiana knew
who...a monster that was now dead thanks to Trent.

She embraced Sasha, who collapsed to the
floor, Vickie embracing them both with a loving coo. Slowly, she
and Vickie helped Sasha recover her feet, escorting her to the
washroom. Sasha obliged them, like a giant doll, as they removed
her dress and jewelry, washing her cold, clammy flesh. They
carefully slid her into a nightgown and escorted her to the bed,
like an overtired child, and helped her in, beside Trent. She
wiggled to Trent's side, wrapping her arms and legs around him
before burying her head in his chest. Within moments, sleep had
overtaken her. Tiana rushed back to the sitting room’s outer door,
turning to the ABF Battleguards on duty.