The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (2 page)

“Mine too!”
called out pilot Lieutenant Jamie Schmidt.

Other bomber pilots
indicated missile launches as well.

Several
bright explosions marked the impact of missiles on the largest cargo ship,
designated Big Poppa. The cargo ships were not protected by energy shields and
were easy prey to the missiles. The warheads on the missiles had been replaced
with a weaker one, designed to disable a ship and not destroy it. The cargo ship
instantly lost power and began drifting in space. More missiles impacted the
other large cargo ship, and soon it too was powerless. The Profiteers had just
lost two large and very expensive cargo vessels.

Captain
Anders flew low over both ships, inspecting the damage. The hulls were
blackened in several sections with a large hole in the hull directly over the
engineering spaces. He carefully checked his sensors as he scanned each vessel.
While the damage to the engineering sections was substantial, there was no danger
of the ships blowing up. If they could be taken back to Newton Station, these
cargo ships could be easily repaired and put to good use.

“All bombers,
we’ll circle our two targets until the battle is over. Keep your sensors
focused on the two cargo ships. If there’s any indication they’re repairing their
damages, we’ll hit them again.” Each Scorpion bomber still possessed a second
Hydra missile if needed.

Anders then switched
his comm to the frequency used by the cargo ships. “Attention Marsten cargo vessels.
Any attempt to repair your damage will result in the destruction of your vessels.
Prepare to be boarded. Your crews will be returned to Kubitz unharmed.” Anders
didn’t bother to mention Fleet Admiral Vickers would demand payment from the
Marsten Profiteers for the safe return of the cargo ships’ crews. Anders
allowed himself to smile. Two could play that game of making profits on the
black market planet.

-

Captain
Cheryl Anniston bit her lip as she anxiously took the eight-hundred-meter-long
battlecruiser
Trinity
in toward the four escort cruisers that were her
targets. The Lance fighters had just hit all four of the cruisers with their entire
complement of Thor missiles.

“Our shields
are at 97 percent,” reported Tactical. “Weapons are online and ready to fire.
Enemy energy shields have been substantially weakened by the fighter strike.”

“Hit target
one with a spread of hypermissiles followed up by our particle beam cannon,” ordered
Anniston, leaning forward in her command chair. The hypermissiles had been
purchased at Kubitz and then modified for use on Human ships.

-

On the outer
hull of the
Trinity
, six missile hatches instantly slid open. A sudden
flash of light indicated the launch of the missiles, and then they vanished as
they entered hyperspace. Moments later they struck the energy shield of one of
the Profiteer escort cruisers. Each missile was equipped with a ten-kiloton
warhead, and the shield became markedly visible as it strained to withstand the
sudden assault of energy. Then a dark blue particle beam slammed into the weakened
energy screen, penetrating it and striking the thin armor on the hull.

A jarring explosion
shook the small vessel, and glowing debris flew away from the ship. Where the
particle beam had struck, a huge hole now resided in the side of the vessel.
Secondary explosions shook the ship, and then, with a sudden flash of light,
the cruiser exploded as its power systems were compromised.

-

“Escort cruiser
is down,” reported the lieutenant, sitting in front of the sensor console.

“Switch to
secondary target,” ordered Captain Anniston, more at ease now that battle had
been joined.

The
Trinity
vibrated, and a console shorted out, sending a shower of bright sparks across
the Command Center.

“Hypermissile
strike to the energy screen,” reported Tactical. “It’s holding at 84 percent.”

“Captain, enemy
target number three is in trouble,” the
Trinity
’s sensor operator
reported. “The Scorpion bombers are really working it over.” A squadron of the
small bombers had been diverted to launch a missile strike against the Profiteer
escort cruiser.

Cheryl looked
up at one of the viewscreens, seeing numerous flashes of light as small Hydra missiles
equipped with ten-kiloton warheads impacted the Profiteer escort cruiser’s energy
screen, which suddenly failed. As additional Hydra warheads detonated, the
enemy ship was blown into a million pieces, turning it into a burning pyre of wreckage.

“Escort
cruiser is down,” reported the sensor operator with a pleased look on his face.

Cheryl
nodded. “That’s what the Profiteers get for arming their ships so lightly to
save money.”

That was one
of the things Fleet Admiral Vickers had learned from the warships he had
purchased from Kubitz. The ships were woefully under armed to save credits. Newton
Station totally refurbished the weapons systems on the battleships and
battlecruisers Kurt had purchased.

-

High
Profiteer Creed seethed with anger. Two of his escort cruisers were down. Both
of the large cargo ships had been disabled, and the Humans were attacking the
others. This profit venture was rapidly turning into a disaster. “How long
before we can jump out of here?” he demanded, turning an icy stare toward
Navigation.

“Two
minutes,” replied Third Profiteer Holbat. “I’m powering up the drive now. We
weren’t expecting to jump so soon.”

“
Plhtup
,”
groaned Second Profiteer Lantz as he rolled his eyes. “We’ll lose all of our
cargo ships in two more minutes. Ships we’ll have to pay to replace back at
Kubitz.”

The
Ascendant
Destruction
suddenly shook violently, and warning alarms sounded. High
Profiteer Creed was nearly thrown to the deck. With a snarl, he buckled his
safety harness tighter. “All weapons, fire on the Humans.” For once Creed was thankful
he had spent the extra credits to have his flagship fully upgraded with the
most powerful energy shield possible. In hindsight, he should have spent more
on his other ships for the same improvements. Now that error would turn costly.

-

In space, the
six-hundred-meter-long light carriers
Vindication
and
Dante
closed the range on the Profiteer escort cruisers. Already both carriers had
launched their bombers and fighters, which were currently on attack runs. Once
the bombers and fighters delivered their missile payloads, the three light
cruisers accompanying the carriers would move in to finish off the escorts.

“Fighters and
bombers are making their attack runs,” reported Lieutenant Anthony Dries, the
executive officer. “They’re meeting very little defensive fire.”

Captain Henry
Watkins nodded. “That’s because the Profiteers aren’t used to defending against
small attack craft. Most of the races we’ve encountered from the Gothan Empire
don’t use them.” Henry leaned back in his command chair. He had been friends
with Fleet Admiral Vickers for years and knew where his primary focus was in
this fight. “What’s the status on the
Ascendant
Destruction
?”
Everyone in the fleet hungered for the destruction of that Profiteer vessel and
the death of its High Profiteer.

“It’s under
attack from the
Star
Cross
,
Carlsbad
, and
Himalaya
. The four light cruisers with the admiral are attacking another one of the
Profiteers’ battlecruisers,” reported Lieutenant Julie Jenkins from her sensor
console.

Henry nodded. “Keep me informed. We need to focus on our
mission and take out as many of these escort cruisers as we can.” However,
Henry knew everyone in the fleet waited to hear if the
Ascendant Destruction
had been destroyed.

-

The fighters and
bombers from the two light carriers swept in, facing little resistance, and,
from point-blank range, launched their Thor and Hydra missiles. Nuclear fire
raged across the shields of three Profiteer cruisers. Then the sixty small
attack craft turned and fled back toward the safety of the carriers, knowing
what would occur next. From the light cruisers
Dallas
,
Alton
, and
Sydney
, six hypermissiles launched from each one. The missiles jumped
into hyperspace to slam into the weakened shields of the Profiteer escort
cruisers. Blistering explosions of nuclear energy rolled across the defensive
screens. All the hypermissiles had struck a relatively small area.

Almost immediately
from the three light cruisers, dark blue particle beams flashed out,
penetrating the energy shields and striking deep into the hulls of the
Profiteer ships. Explosions shook the vessels, and then the light cruisers
fired their bow KEW cannons, hurling dual two-thousand-pound projectiles at 10 percent
the speed of light. When the rounds struck the Profiteer vessels, the ships simply
disintegrated from the massive release of kinetic energy.

-

“We got three
of them!” boasted Lieutenant Dries with a satisfied grin. “That’s cutting them
down to size.”

“Remaining enemy
escort cruisers are transiting into hyperspace,” warned Lieutenant Jenkins. “We
won’t get the rest of them.”

Captain
Watkins turned toward the main viewscreen, showing the remaining escort cruisers
disappearing. He also noticed four cargo ships and one of their escort cruisers
were escaping as well. He let out a deep sigh; it had been too much to hope to
get them all.

Glancing at
another screen, he saw the
Star
Cross
and the other Human
battlecruisers were heavily engaged with the six Profiteer battlecruisers. The
enemy ships were putting up substantial resistance.

“Send our
light cruisers to aid Fleet Admiral Vickers,” ordered Captain Watkins.

He saw one
Profiteer battlecruiser under extremely heavy attack, its energy screen alight
with nuclear explosions. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the
Ascendant
Destruction
. With concern, he saw that one of Admiral Vickers’s accompanying
light cruisers targeted by several Profiteer battlecruisers was in trouble.

-

The light
cruiser
Badger
reeled from the attack of two Profiteer battlecruisers
intent on its destruction. Its defensive shield was in danger of failing as
more power was required to keep it up.

“Status?”
demanded Captain Harris, seeing the frightened looks on his crew.

The ship
suddenly shook violently, and the lights dimmed.

“We just lost
two of our energy beam turrets, and we have fires in sections seven and eight
on the starboard outer hull,” the executive officer reported. “Numerous compartments
are open to space with heavy casualties.”

“Pull us
back,” grated out Captain Harris, knowing his ship was badly damaged. If they
didn’t withdraw, the ship would be lost.

“Sublight
drive has failed,” the helm officer reported grimly. “We’re shifting all our available
power to the energy shield!”

A rumbling
noise suddenly filled the Command Center. Harris looked questionably at his executive
officer, who shook her head.

“Secondary
explosions. We won’t last much longer.”

Harris nodded.
This was a good crew, and he wished he could have taken them back home one more
time. Before he could say anything, a bright light filled the Command Center.

-

“Light cruiser
Badger
is down,” reported Lieutenant Brooks as she saw the cruiser’s green
icon suddenly expand and then fade away on her sensor screen.

Kurt sucked in
a deep breath. There had always been a risk of losing some ships in this
battle. “Keep our focus on the
Ascendant
Destruction
and the
other battlecruisers. I want to hurt them as much as possible.”

“Firing
particle beam,” said Lieutenant Evelyn Mays as she let loose the deadly weapon on
the enemy flagship.

-

“Our surviving
escort cruisers and four of our cargo ships have transitioned into hyperspace,”
reported Second Profiteer Lantz. He had a jagged cut across his forehead from slamming
into his control console. “The other cargo ships have been disabled, and their
escort cruisers destroyed.”

The
Ascendant
Destruction
suddenly rang like a bell, and more alarms sounded.

“Particle
beam strike to our hull,” cried out Lantz, gazing in horror at the damage
control console, lighting up in red warning lights. “Our hull’s been
compromised.”

“Can we jump
into hyperspace?” Creed knew, if they couldn’t, they were doomed.

“Borderline,”
reported Holbat. “We may burn out the drive in the process.”

The ship
shook violently, and several consoles exploded. Third Profiteer Lukon screamed
and fell to the floor, leaving the communications console unattended.

“Jump us,” yelled
Creed, his face stormy. “If you don’t, we’re all dead!”

Moments later
High Profiteer Creed felt the ship jump into hyperspace. The sounds of battle
faded away, and the ship settled down. “Report!”

He didn’t
even want to contemplate how much the Humans had just cost him. It would take tens
of millions in credits just to replace the ships and crews he had lost, let
alone the assets he sought within the system of Julbian. He fully intended to
return to Kubitz and file a complaint against the Humans with the Controllers,
though he knew it would do little good since the Humans were not a part of the
Gothan Empire. However, he might get some trade restrictions put on them.

“We’ve got a
problem,” reported Second Profiteer Lantz, his face pale. “Our engineer reports
the hyperdrive is overheating, and we can’t stay in hyperspace for long without
burning it out. If we lose the drive, we won’t make it back home.”