Annihilation: A Rose Grows In Weeds (31 page)

Tag spoke into his com, “All ships, move into tube formation and launch hornets as needed.”

The 50,000 ships of the SR Fleet moved from a line into a hollow cylinder formed by five lines of ten thousand ships each moving toward the waiting missiles like a spear. The hornets had been programmed to destroy everything in front and to the sides of the formation. The blasts were far enough away from the fleet that the Megaships screens could handle it without failing. As the outer ships screens turned red, they would move inside the cylinder and new ships would replace them. The SR Fleet moved inexorably toward the Algean Fleets surrounding the planet.

The Algean Fleet Leader could not determine what was happening. The entire space in front of the Strangers ships was a huge mass of anti-matter explosions that were happening on such a massive scale that none of his sensors could see into it. Power missiles were exploding on a ten thousand mile front. He ordered his ships to stop moving toward the Strangers ships out of fear that the anti-matter explosions would destroy his ships. His fleet stopped and stayed behind the second band of power missiles. He kept watching the massive explosions wondering how much longer they could possibly continue. He had placed two bands of power missiles between the jump limit and the planet. The power missiles had a range limit of 300 miles before they ran out of fuel so they had to wait for the incoming ships to get inside their range. There was 100,000 miles between bands and the second band could not go to support the first band because they were too far out. The first band was 90,000 miles wide and had more than 30 million power missiles. “How can anything survive that?” he thought and then he saw the huge cylinder of the Strangers Ships emerge from the explosions and then fan out into a long line moving toward his fleet. The Fleet leader was stunned. The missiles did not appear to have any affect. The Strangers ships accelerated toward his second band of power missiles and moved rapidly beyond the 300 mile range of the missiles in the first band that had survived.

Tag watched as the fleet emerged from the explosions and fanned out into a line again. He looked at Ron-Dar and said, “Issue the orders for the second hornet launch.” Ron-Dar nodded and turned to his communication console. The transports had launched 60 million hornets to get the fleet through the first band of anti-matter missiles. There were still explosions behind them where hornets were killing any missile that survived. The SR Fleet moved more than five hundred miles beyond the first band of missiles and out of their range. Each of the 50,000 megaships launched one thousand of the old pulse penetrators toward the second band of Algean missiles. Each of the old penetrators carried 80 hornets which were released 100 miles from the Algean missiles. Four hundred million hornets roared into the ranks of the Algean missiles as the SR Fleet stopped and waited for the explosions to stop. Across a 100,000 mile front, the universe looked like it had gone nova. The members of both Algean and Stars Realm fleets were amazed at the magnitude of those explosions. It looked like a universe gone mad.

Tag looked at Ron-Dar and said, “When the explosions stop, advance at full speed. We will launch one million of our new penetrators 1,000 miles from their fleet and then move into cylinder formation behind them at full speed and penetrate through their ranks to the planet. Once we hit the harvesters, we’ll exit the system.”

Tag’s display showed Admirals Dorg, Mikado, Chen, and Kelly. He pushed his communication button and said, “You all know the plan; each of your individual fleets will make one of the five walls of the cylinder and as soon as we penetrate to the planet you will all exit at ninety degrees from the formation and launch half of your new penetrators. We will then reform the cylinder and exit vertical to the systems plane. We will only use enough penetrators to break out of the Algeans formations. I want to save as many of the penetrators as possible to break out to the jump limit. I expect the Plants to jump ships in behind us.”

Dorg shrugged and said, “What happens if we don’t have enough after the attack.”

“Those ships with the most remaining will form the point of the formation where most of the action will be happening. At full speed, it’s my belief that they won’t be able to hit us from the sides. Remind you ships that when they empty their magazines of penetrators to fall to the back of their respective line and launch hornets from the side of the formation to hit any Plant missiles that get close to us.”

The four admirals looked grim; they had seen the two and a half million ships surrounding the planet. This was war on a scale that was beyond anything they had ever experienced. Tag’s display went blank as the admirals began issuing orders to each of their ten thousand ships. Tag looked at his viewport at the continuing blasts of anti-matter in front of his fleet. The explosions continued unabated for two hours until they slowed and finally stopped. Now there was nothing separating the two fleets.

The Fleet Leader ordered his ships to surround the Stranger’s ships and the newer designed vessels started moving ahead of the older Plant ships because of their superior speed. He was nervous about the attack. They were not fleeing like they had done before. His anxiety turned to fear as the Stranger’s ships moved into that cylinder formation and came at his fleet at a speed that was faster than anything he had ever seen. Then things went bad very, very quickly.

One thousand miles from the Algean fleet, the SR ships launched one million of the new penetrators that flew into the incoming ranks of the Plant fleet so fast that there was no reaction time. The two mile long newly designed ships that were out in front of the Plant fleet were blown into fragments so small that sensors could not register them. The larger older ships behind the front ranks were hit and five mile wide holes were blown into their hulls often exploding their weapon magazines and totally demolishing them. An eight hundred mile wide hole was blasted through the approaching Plant fleet that the SR Fleet flew through to the planet. The new penetrators flew so fast that they looked like laser beams as they struck the Plant ships.

The Fleet Leader was in his command ship at the planet as the Stranger’s ships broke through his lines and then split into five groups that scattered and launched more of those terrible new weapons. He saw ten of the ships were going to come close to his ship and he saw his death coming. “Now I wish I had been relieved after the last battle.” Just before one of the new penetrators hit his ship he thought, “Can we win this war?” That was his last thought as his ship and all of the harvesters disappeared in five mile wide blasts.

The Plant fleet did not have a chance to scatter to avoid the new penetrators. Once the penetrator locked on a ship, that ship died. On all sides of the SR Fleet, millions of ships exploded. The Algean Elders watched the feed of the battle and swayed almost uncontrollably as they saw their ships being blown apart. The fleet sent to jump in behind the Strangers ships watched as the huge toll of destroyed ships grew. The Elders were stunned. Then the Eldest leader said, “Order the support fleet back, there aren’t enough to stand up to those weapons. Order our ships in the system to ram those intruders.”

The SR Fleet turned to reform the cylinder and found hundreds of thousands of Plant ships running full speed at them. On board the London, Captain Jane Calloway watched as a solid wall of Plant ships moved toward her ship. Her orders were to save as many penetrators as possible for system exit but she had to launch all of her remaining penetrators to barely escape the ships trying to ram her. Other SR ships were not so lucky. More than 18,000 megaships were rammed and destroyed before the cylinder could be reformed. One of those ships lost was Chen’s Nemesis.

Chen watched as solid walls of Algean ships surrounding his ship were moving at full ramming speed. He tried to blast his way out but there were just too many. Just as he saw a gap in the Plant ships one of the seven mile long battleships hit him from the side. Both ships exploded as the Coronado power cells release all of their energy.

Ron-Dar was doing everything possible to escape the ramming ships but nothing was working. Tag was amazed at how well he fought his ship but he could see that there were too many. Ron-Dar had exhausted all of his weapons and 100 of the Plant ships were closing on Retribution. He turned and said, “I’m sorry sir. I’m responsible for your loss. Please forgive me.”

Tag could sense the Plant ships accelerating toward his ship; just before impact he jumped from his chair and ran over to Ron-Dar and wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes and thought, “You cannot see me, you cannot see me, you cannot see me,” and then the world turned white.”

The SR ships that made it back into formation turned and accelerated up and out toward the jump limit. Mikado commed Admiral Dorg and said, “Retribution has been destroyed.”

Dorg felt a pain hit him and thought, “Not another friend. Not you too, Tag.”

Then he heard Mikado say, “What are your orders sir?”

Dorg shook off his sadness and made himself focus on the situation. “Tactical, Lt. Grada”

“Sir, we have broken out of the Algean formations and are headed toward the jump limit. A Plant fleet of a million plus ships have jumped into the system and are just inside the jump limit moving toward us. We have less than 90,000 penetrators remaining.”

Dorg knew that it wouldn’t be enough to break out of the system and knew that he was probably going to lose the rest of the fleet. “Well,” he thought, “might as well go out with a bang. Form the cylinder, redistribute ships as needed, those with penetrators move to the front of the formation, and full speed ahead. Let’s take as many as we can.”

The cylinder moved closer and closer to the jump limit and when they were less than thirty minutes from the Plant fleet, the Algean ships turned, moved outside the jump limit, and jumped away. Dorg was dumbfounded. “Why did they do that?”

Mikado appeared on his communication console. “I guess they thought they didn’t have enough ships.”

Dorg looked at him on the com screen, “What makes you say that?”

“Look at your ship count. The Plants had two and a half million ships in that system and all of their new designed ships. They lost more than two million ships. It’s my guess that they thought we had enough of the new penetrators to kill the fleet that had jumped in. They didn’t know how few we had left.”

Dorg realized Mikado was probably right. “All ships prepare to jump to the Dremels’ system.” As the survivors of the SR Fleet jumped Dorg felt his sadness again, “Oh Tag, how could we lose you?”

Rose opened her eyes and went into her mother’s office. Danielle looked up from the list of issues put before her by the Stars Realm representatives and saw her standing in the doorway. She immediately saw the look on Rose’s face and Danielle felt her heart go into her throat. She dropped the document and said, “No! Rose, tell me he’s ok.”

Rose looked her mother in the eye and said, “His ship was destroyed.”

Danielle immediately thought, “Atlas, Atlas, where are you?”

“I’m inside the system waiting for the ships around Tag to move so I can go in and get him. There are so many that there’s no room for me to get close. He is still alive, Danielle. Just hold on.”

“What if they see him and capture him,” Danielle wailed.

“Danielle, I don’t know exactly what he’s doing but the only way I’ve been able to locate him is because I can read the force field around him. I’m unable to see him and you know how good my systems are.”

Rose thought to them, “He’s using his psychic skills to hide. He’s able to put a field around him that bends light around him. I haven’t seen him do that before and it’s a pretty clever trick.”

Danielle and Rose had walked out of her office and were sitting in the bed room. Danielle looked at Rose and said, “What do you mean?”

Suddenly, right in front of Danielle, Rose disappeared. Danielle jumped up and spun around and started to panic, but then Rose reappeared right where she was before. “I’m sorry, Mom, I just wanted to demonstrate how he was hiding.”

“Rose, is he going to be ok?”

“I think the weeds better hope they don’t find him, remember, he has a pretty effective Alfont hand weapon. Just be patient, Mom, Atlas will get him.”

“Can you see him, Rose?”

Rose closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, “Yes, I can.” Then Rose’s eyes got wide and she said, “He’s not alone. Someone is with him in the force field.”

Danielle said, “Show me Rose, I’ve got to see him. I can’t lose him, he’s my life.”

Rose sent her thoughts to Danielle and she saw him floating in space surrounded by thousands of ships. Tag, are you alright?” she thought at him.

“Mom, your thoughts can’t get through his psychic field. Even Atlas can’t reach him; just be patient.”

Danielle sat down and worried about the love of her life.

Tag floated in space surrounded by the force field Atlas had given him during their first meeting on the moon. Ron-Dar was lying against the force field wall looking out at the thousands of Plant ships surrounding them. He looked at Tag and said, “I’m sure there’s an answer for what’s happening. Would you mind telling me? Are we dead?”

Tag sighed and looked out at the Plant ships around them, “I have been given a gift by a friend that puts a force field around me whenever a projectile or explosion comes at me. I knew that there was room for me and one more. You are too valuable to the Realm to allow you to die. I watched you fight your ship and you are the best ship commander I’ve ever seen, other than Kosiev, and you might be better than he was. I was able to get to you before the ship died.”