Blood War 1: Last Stand of the Legion: Rift (17 page)

"Helmsman
, we needed to keep their attention long enough for the torpedoes to have done their job. Let’s get out of here until we are ready for another run. Bear away and start evasive maneuvers. Come to 480.34."

"Aye ma'am. Beginning evasive maneuvers. Coming to 480.34. All defensive screens at full power." Not that they had done much good so far
, but they might help to screen their position enough to give them time to reload.

Ririsa pressed her intership comm button.

"Our torpedoes found targets I am beginning evasive maneuvers."

"Right behind you
, Ririsa," The Captain of the Bernards said.

"Mr.
Tmesgen let me know when the torpedo tubes have been re-loaded."

"Aye
, ma'am."

Ririsa hoped they
would last long enough to get off another salvo. They had been incredibly lucky until now. She hoped the Capella's luck held out. She needed to get the Legionnaires off before they were lost with the Capella.

"Launch all Legionnaires. I repeat launch all Legionnaires."

Good luck, Ririsa thought. They would need it against the size of the opposing fleet.

LYTEN SYSTEM

RIFT

PLEIADES FLEET ANCHORAGE

HARBOR MASTERS CONTROL CENTER

Dunc Havfu felt helpless. He could only stand and watch the attack like some kind of spectator at a sporting event. The Phoenix had taken hit after hit, yet some of her weapon mounts continued to fire at the fighters. More mounts were coming on line with each minute. The courage of the sailors on board was staggering. Huge holes had been opened throughout her hull, yet she continued to fight back. The repair crews and robots were doing a tremendous job keeping areas of the ship habitable for the crew. She was surrounded with a cloud of debris of all sizes and types, including bodies.

Chi
Tapuruan stood beside him, just as transfixed as he was by the sight of the Pleiades Fleet being destroyed in front of their eyes.

"I'm staying
," Chi said without taking his eyes from the carnage.

"We're going to need all the help we can get old friend.

"I know. It looks as if I'm going to miss my son’s birth."

"Over there
," Dunc said pointing to the destroyers.

"We need
more ships to get underway and get into the fight."

The Capella and
the Bernards had gotten underway and were leaving the anchorage at full speed. He thought he could see the Capella begin to fire her torpedoes. He wished them well as they were heading directly into harms way. The two tiny destroyers were so outclassed he almost wondered if it were worth their lives. Yet he could not help but hope against hope that they would have some luck and be able to get into the fight. They were both being swarmed by fighters, but Dunc saw their batteries firing furiously. The mini rails were a bright silver dotted lines and the scrams were large orange flashes. An alien fighter exploded, then another as they tried to attack the Capella. A torpedo streaking for the Bernards exploded short when the mini rail found it.

"Go, go
," Chi said under his breath as the destroyers continued their race out of the anchorage.

Dunc happen
ed to glance at Battleship Row again as another fighter came into view. It fired two torpedoes at the Orin. He could see Orin's scram cannons wink orange as they fired at the incoming fighter. The rail guns were trying to find the range of the torpedoes but this time they missed. The torpedoes seemed to be faster than the ones he had previously seen. The Orin's hanger deck hatch opened. She was trying to launch her fighters. The torpedoes found the open hatch. Instead of exploding against her armored hull, they flew directly into the hanger deck and exploded.

Dunc would watch what happened next in
his mind over and over. Initially the explosions in the hanger deck looked bad, blowing crew, equipment and fighters out of the open hatch. Then a second huge explosion occurred followed by another and another. Each was bigger than the last. The torpedoes had found the Orin's magazine. The last explosion was the largest of them all. It literally broke the Orin in half. Huge sections of the Orin were thrown out with a force Dunc could not have imagined. The aft section was actually thrown down and away from the rest of ship. It began to spin slowly toward Rift as it was thrown out of orbit. It would burn up when it reentered Rift's atmosphere.

The battleship Aquila to her port
, and the Indus to her starboard, were both struck by the massive force of the explosions’ debris of the Orin. The Aquila actually turned on her port side tearing at the magnetic mooring lines. The Bravo Dock was being pulled down by the Aquila, which was beginning to pull the Leo with it.

"Release the Aquila's moorings!" Dunc shouted.

When it didn't happen immediately, Dunc glanced over at the mooring technician. He was staring open-mouthed at the destruction happening in front of his eyes. Dunc lunged and pushed him out of the way. He slammed his fist down on the emergency release button dropping the magnetic lines away.

The Bravo's Docks inner gyros slowly began to right the dock. The Leo was safe. The Aquila began a slow roll down and away from the dock. He could only imagine the chaos that kind of maneuver would cause in the huge ships
’ interior spaces. Men, women and equipment would be rolling around together in a terrible mix of humans and heavy equipment.

The damage to the Indus was immediately obvious. All of the guns
’ mounts on port side, the side facing the Aquila, had been silenced. There no more gun flashes. The whole side of the ship appeared to have been opened from bow to stern. Entire sections of the ship were missing. The force of the debris from the blast crushed some sections inward. It looked as if a huge hand had torn it apart. Equipment was floating out as well as bodies and even fighters. Dunc was not sure if the Indus was salvageable.

Dunc finally snapped out of his shock and searched frantically on his screen for the ship he was looking for when he finally found it near The Island on the starboard side. Protected from the blast by the island
, the ships moored along its length remained untouched. The huge tug, the Lucy B, was one of those ships.

"Harbor Master to Lucy B."

No reply. He looked again. She seemed to be underway.

"Harbor Master to Lucy B."

"Lucy B to Harbor Master."

"Are you able to get underway?"

"Roger, Harbor Master. We got some debris from that explosion but we are still underway."

"Lucy B
, the Aquila has broken from her moorings and is in an uncontrolled spin. Can you assist?"

"Check Harbor Master
. We are inbound at this time."

Dunc watched as the Lucy B gained forward speed and turned to port and headed toward the Aquila. As she did
so, he could see other smaller tugs move to assist her. All of this was happening in the midst of the alien fighters flashing through their midst and torpedoes streaking toward other ships in the anchorage. The fighters had ignored the civilian ships up till now; he could only hope they would continue to focus on the naval vessels.

"All service ships in the
anchorage discontinue any missions and begin search and rescue operations. I repeat begin search and rescue operations," Chi said over the anchorage wide comm frequency.

The Search and Rescue boats stationed in the Harbor Masters Control Tower left their quarters below them.

"This is Search and Rescue. Be advised the entire Search and Rescue Task Force is responding to Battleship Row."

"Roger
, Search and Rescue," Dunc said.

He watched as ship after ship left their station
, their red lights flashing. They ignored the fighters around them and continued straight for battleship row. A fighter broke off on an attack on the Island and fired at the Task Force.

"J
ou Naai!
" Chi yelled.

The lead out rescue craft of the Task Force exploded. The rest continued toward Battleship Row. The fighter came back around for another pass at the rescue men and women when a scram cannon off the Rigil Kent struck the fighter destroying it in a flash.

"
Cao ni didi
!" Dunc said.

He knew they were not the only men and women who would die today trying to save others. It was his job to support them as best he could. He had to begin to act.

"Shut the fuel farm down and advise them to batten down all hatches. Then abandon the station."

Chi was standing at his side.

"Ja, tell the Magazine Farm to complete all emergency shut down procedures."

LYTEN SYSTEM

RIFT

FLEET HEADQUARTERS

EMERGENCY COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER

As Admiral Usiche Raurk walked into the ECIC the guard yelled:

"Attention on deck."

"As you were," Usiche said.

The room returned to the beehive of activity that it had
been just prior to her arrival. Screens flashed maps, displays and volumes of information as communicators and watch officers communicated to the far reaches of her command.

Istas glanced at the Admiral
. It was immediately obvious she was in charge by her command presence alone. She was followed by the rest of the senior Naval and Legion staff, who went to their various positions around the room.

Usiche stepped up onto her command platform raised above the deck. In front of her was a semi-circle of consoles and screens floated in the air for easy reach. These allowed her to monitor anything that went on in the ECIC and consequently anything that went on in the fleet. She had just sat down, when Captain
Kitmura approached her.

"Ma'am
, should I man a station?"

"No Captain
, I want you with me. I want you to see the same information that I do and at the same time."

"Admiral
, with all due respect, that is my battalion getting ready to go into combat. I should be with them."

Usiche stared at the Captain for a long moment. These Legionnaires were all the same. Thank God. But she needed him here.

"Captain, I understand your loyalty. I can certainly understand your feelings.  Captain, through some very sharp analysis and intuition you were able to predict this attack and tried to warned the fleet even as they were approaching. At this point I need that kind of intuitive reasoning. I am not going to have much hard intelligence to go on for a while and I need your analysis and instincts. You are to be at my side and see what I see and have the information I have. If you have another one of your hunches then I want you to speak up.  Do you understand?"

"Aye, Aye
ma 'am."

"Good, I am going to need all of the help I can get if we are going to salvage anything from this attack."

Admiral Raurk turned to the rest of CIC and said,

"Who is my Battle Captain? Who is running the room?"

Lieutenant Netis stood. She was barely taller than her console.

"Lieutenant Netis
, ma 'am."

The Admiral
, despite her usual Sol composure, was unable to disguise her surprise.

"Ma'am, everyone else is on shore leave and has not been able to report for duty. I am certified and have been through the simulator a number of times."

"Very well, let’s just hope our training is as good as we like to say it is. For now I want the Battle Rhythm to be in one hour increments, so on the hour every hour until I determine differently I want a complete Battle Update Brief status for the anchorage and on Rift. Understood?"

" Aye, aye
ma'am. BUB's on the hour. Do you wish a BUB now?"

The Admiral again showed a reaction
; something she was famous for not doing normally. To have a Battle Update Brief ready at this point meant she had someone who was thinking ahead and reacting to the situation without orders - exactly what she needed in a situation like this.

"Yes, Lieutenant
. I would like a short BUB."

The Lieutenant switched
the display in the front of the room into a battle screen. It showed the alien ships as red arrows and the Confederation ships in green. There were few green fighters; in fact you could count them on one hand. Yet there were more red arrows than you could count.

"Ma'am we have lost contact with both
D50 and M51. Both outposts show massive explosive decompressions. We must assume we have lost all the Legion, naval vessels and personnel. It appears that it was a coordinated and calculated attack to make sure surprise was complete."

Usiche glanced at Buchman and Oxford
. Both looked as if they had been struck across the face. The loss of that many personnel without so much as a peep was not a good sign.

"The Anchorage is under heavy and continuous attack. The Destroyers Capella and Bernards have gotten underway and are now engaging the enemy fleet. The
y have both launched torpedoes and are in the process of reloading for another attack. The Phoenix, and Pereus are in the process of launching their Legionnaires. But none have gotten into the fight yet. The Orin took a torpedo in her munitions locker and was completely destroyed. She was broken in half. Her aft portion is now spinning out of orbit toward Rift. The Aquila and Indus were berthed on either side of the Orin. Both were severely damaged by the explosion of the Orin. The Aquila was thrown free of her moorings and is now in a slow spin. Tugs are on the scene even though they are being fired upon, trying to stop the spin and get her stabilized. The Indus is reporting she has lost almost all of her port side gun mounts and has breaches all along her starboard side. Damage control crews are overwhelmed but are trying to isolate the breaches and divert power to the gun mounts. Admiral Tamara Lule has begun all preparation for getting the Pereus underway. In the mean time she has ordered all her fighters and Swift Boats to launch and support the Capella and Bernards. There are a number of other ships in various stages of getting underway but nothing definitive yet. Search and Rescue are on the scene of the Orin explosion and working with the Indus and Aquila to rescue trapped personnel."

Usiche almost slumped in her seat
. The news was worse than she had anticipated. The aliens were on a course to completely destroy the Pleiades Fleet while it sat at anchorage. How in hell did they know this was exactly the right time to strike? It could not have been better planned if they had someone on the staff. Usiche quickly turned back to the situation at hand. Those questions were for another time.

"Ma'am. There is one last thing. We do not know what to make of it. We have the largest target we have ever seen. We are not sure we understand what it is."

"Very well, let me see it."

The screen changed and a huge red triangle came into view at the very limit of the combat sensors. It dwarfed the battleships that surrounded
it. Usiche glanced at Oxford and Golenpaul.

"It
has to be their invasion ship. It is holding all the troops and equipment they will need to invade the planet," Buchman said.

"How can you be sure
, General?"

"
Colonel Sand and I have had several long discussions over the past months about calculating logistically what it would take to invade a planet.  It would take ships of that size to transport the troops and equipment."

"First Admiral Golepaul
, I want to you to contact Task Force 7 and get them back here as soon as possible."

"Normal communications would take days to get there."

"Admiral that will not do. Send the fastest ships we have after them and order their return. Try anything you can think of to get them back here."

"Ma'am
."

Golepaul turned to his console and began to give orders.

Istas had been watching Lt. Ezhno at the Intercept Center. While she went about her duties like everyone else in the Center, there were times when she casually looked around. Istas thought that if it were her assignment then she too would be keeping a close eye on everything in the room. You always wanted to know where the possible threats were so you could adapt your plan if necessary. The more she watched Ezhno the more convinced she became that she was the one. Nothing overt, she was too good for that, she had been trained well. No, it was a lot of little things that finally added up to her being the one. If it was her assignment she would make her move soon while things were still confused. Istas stood and began to move toward her. She had removed her shoes and her dress coat. She needed to be able to move. In the confusion of the Admiral’s arrival no one had noticed.

That is when it happened
. Ezhno turned to Golepaul with a weapon she had pulled from under her desk. She blew Golenpaul's head off. Before anyone could move she did the same to Admiral Ramona Oxford. The nearest technician jumped at the Lieutenant. With what seemed to be almost a casual blow Ezhno killed the technician. He lay at her feet, his skull crushed. Istas knew the kind of power it would take to so easily kill an attacker. This was not a normal human. She began to move toward the Admiral's command platform.

Then Ezhno moved the weapon toward
General Buchman. The killing of the technician had given Buchman the split second he had needed to dive under his console. The weapon missed by inches, blowing a large hole in the console. Istas saw Lieutenant Netis begin to move toward Ezhno. Istas began her attack. She put her hand on Netis's shoulder and shoved her to the deck and leaped at the same time. She had activated her enhancements before she leaped. The assassin fired but she had not expected Istas to move as quickly or as high as she had when she leaped. The weapon's shot missed her.

Ezhno recognized where the threat to her mission was and turned toward Istas. Istas arched her toes back and the crystal blade
s slid out. She tried for a killing blow to the assassin’s neck but she was not there when Istas landed. Ezhno had leaped out of the way and was now crouched high on the wall of the Center. She must have jumped at least twenty feet up and ten feet across the room to land where she did. Istas could see she gripped the wall with claws that came out of her fingers. This was no human breed or an enhanced human; this was something else.

It would take all of Istas
’ skill and strength to defeat it. A slow smile crossed her face. This fight would be remembered and told by Anjin's for generations. Ezhno saw the smile and for a split second seemed to hesitate before she began to bring the weapon toward Istas. Istas knew she had to use the one weapon she had brought. She contracted muscles between her shoulder blades and a crystal knife slid from the pouch inserted under her skin ready for use.

But Ezhno was quicker
- she had the weapon pointed at Istas. That is when the two security guards from the entrance appeared with their rail pistols drawn. Ezhno blew both their heads off so quickly it appeared she had done it with a single shot. Istas saw the two shots and was amazed. Given the fact she was hanging from a wall with one hand and fired the weapon perfectly with the other impressed Istas. That split second gave Istas the time she needed. 

In a one smooth
, practiced motion Istas reached behind her neck and threw the knife. Her aim was perfect. The knife pierced Ezhno's wrist and she dropped the weapon. Ezhno made a hissing sound and bared her teeth. She now knew that Istas was a true threat and would have to be taken care of before she could finish her mission. Ezhno jumped off the wall toward Istas, a loud screech coming from her throat, her mouth turned down into a snarl. Instead of waiting for Ezhno, Istas leaped to meet her in mid-air. They smashed together and dropped to the deck with neither having the advantage.

Captain Knott had stepped in front of the Admiral at the
sound of the first shot. He had shoved Usiche under the consoles and covered her body with his own. He was astounded at the speed with which both the assassin and the Naval Lieutenant fighting her moved. At times they were literally a blur of motion. He had heard about enhancements by certain breeds but nothing that would give someone almost inhuman strength. Who was this Lieutenant fighting whatever it was that was killing the staff?

Istas felt the strength of Ezhno; it was not human. It was more powerful than her enhancements
and it would take all her skill to kill this thing. They both disengaged and took stances just a few feet apart. Istas knew that the creature had not expected someone like her and was not prepared for this in her mission planning. Ezhno hissed at Istas and flexed her hands so that claws came out of her fingers. They were not metal or crystal - they were organic. They were part of her anatomy. Istas waited. When your attacker was stronger you had to use their strength against them.

Ezhno struck with her left hand claws extended
, trying to tear Istas’s throat out. Istas was just fast enough to move out of the way but Ezhno's claws still ripped across her shoulder, tearing open her flesh and leaving long bloody wounds. Istas was just able to grab Ezhno's arm and throw her off balance. She moved past Ezhno, landing a hammer fist to the back of her head as she moved. It did not faze Ezhno; she turned and hissed at Istas again. Istas had used that same hammer fist to kill more than once. This was truly an alien; a human would have been knocked unconscious or would have been killed.

Blood poured from Istas's wounds. The smell of her own blood only intensified her concentration. It was killing time. She or Ezhno were going to die. With every bit of strength and power she had
, Istas kicked Ezhno with her left, then her right foot. Both blows had found their targets and her crystals had plunged deep into Ezhno's chest and abdomen. Ezhno had not expected imbedded blades instead had expected to take the power of the kicks before moving in for the kill. She paused for a split second; the crystals had done their job. Istas followed her kicks with an arched hand thrust to the throat. This time the her strike found its target. Istas twisted the crystal blade in Ezhno's neck. Ezhno grabbed Istas's back, sinking her claws on both hands deep into the muscles of Istas's back, trying to throw her off. The pain only intensified Istas’s strength forcing her to reach for the reserves she had been taught she had so long ago in training.