The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (21 page)

“Order all
platforms to fire their remaining black matter missiles!” he ordered. “Follow
up with antimatter missiles in auto mode.”

Latium wanted every remaining missile fired as rapidly as possible while they still had the
firepower to damage the black fleet. He was devastated to see how powerful this
new beam weapon of the enemy was. He hadn’t expected to lose so many of his
defense platforms so quickly. Without the defense platforms, the Visth
homeworld was doomed.

“Those beams
are composed of the same type of energy as the black antimatter spheres,” Drume
reported as his hands flew nimbly across his tactical console. “Only it’s more
focused and much more intense. Our energy shield won’t hold up long, even with
our energy reserves.” As he spoke, the lights in the Command and Control Center dimmed, and the station shook violently once more. In the distance came the
sound of tearing metal.

“We have
numerous compartments open to space,” reported Lela Graft, the damage control
officer. “We’re losing life support in parts of the station.”

“Firing
missiles in auto mode,” reported Drume. “Force beams and all energy projectors
operating at full power. We have enough energy for three minutes of operation.”

Captain Latium considered his command crew. All of them knew they were not getting out of this
alive. Their duty was to defend the Visth from harm. They would fail miserably
in this, but they would all give their lives in the effort. However, Latium saw no point in Captain Dreen sacrificing his ships needlessly, as they would be
needed to defend other Enlightened Worlds and possibly even Lakiam. The vital information
gleaned from this battle must be shared with all the Protector Worlds. The
black ships could be destroyed but at a terrible cost.

In a calm and
decisive voice, he turned toward the communications officer, seeing the fear in
her eyes. “Tell Captain Dreen that he’s to take his fleet and jump into
hyperspace when the last orbital defense platform has been destroyed. He’s to
proceed directly to Lakiam and inform them of what transpired here. Perhaps
what we learned today will allow other Enlightened Worlds to survive.”

The Command
and Control Center grew quiet as the Lakiam officers realized there would be no
escape for them.

-

In space, the
intensity of the battle increased tenfold as the besieged Orbital Defense Platforms
fired their missiles in sprint mode. Each station in range targeted just a
single black ship. Even as the platforms died in titanic explosions of pure
energy, a few black ships met their deaths as well. Dark matter hyperspace
missiles slammed into energy shields, followed by weaker antimatter ones.
Energy shields on the black ships became engorged with energy, only to detonate
violently when they finally reached their saturation point. Every time that
happened, the black ship died instantly.

Force beams
and energy beams lashed out at the black ships in a vain effort to destroy more
of the enemy. On ships where energy screens were already engorged from
absorbing energy from black matter and antimatter missiles, the screens failed,
releasing their stored-up power. More black ships died in fiery explosions.

The black
ships ignored their losses and pressed on doggedly, playing their deadly black
antimatter beams across the Orbital Defense Platforms. Platform after platform
died as their screens were overwhelmed, and then their very structures were blown
apart. In a matter of only a few minutes, all that remained were the
beleaguered Command and Control Station and the Lakiam fleet.

-

Captain Dreen
felt the blood drain from his face upon seeing the destruction wrought by the
black ships. He had never dreamed the large Class One Defense Platforms could
be destroyed so easily. These same platforms were deployed above all the
Protector Worlds. Nothing was stronger.

“All vessels,
standby to jump,” he ordered over the ship-to-ship comm. “As soon as all hypermissiles,
both dark matter and antimatter have been fired, you’re to jump into hyperspace
and proceed immediately to Lakiam.”

On one of the
viewscreens, he saw two more black ships explode. It was a muted relief to know
they had at least one weapon which was effective against the enemy ships. It
was essential word of this reach Lakiam and the other Protector Worlds.

“Some of the
enemy ships are targeting our battlecruisers,” warned Sensor Operator Laylem.

On the large
tactical display, Dreen saw four green icons representing his battlecruisers
vanish. “All ships, jump now,” he ordered. If he waited another few minutes, he
could lose the rest of his fleet.

“Jumping,”
reported Jalad from the Helm as he pressed several icons on one of his computer
screens. Instantly the flagship accelerated and transitioned into hyperspace.

The last scene
Captain Dreen saw would be etched into his mind forever. The black ships
brutally attacking the Command and Control Station, which was still valiantly
fighting back. Much of its armor had been stripped away, but its remaining
force beams and direct energy projectors were still firing defiantly. Then
everything faded out as the flagship jumped to safety.

-

Captain Latium watched as Captain Dreen’s flagship vanished from the viewscreen into the safety of
hyperspace, leaving the Command and Control Station alone to face the black
fleet. He was relieved the majority of Captain Dreen’s ships had escaped.
Shifting his gaze to the damage control console, he noted nearly every light
was red. All their missiles had been launched, and most of the station’s force
beam and energy projectors were gone. Nothing could be done now to protect
Visth Prime. Even the communications console had fallen silent as the world
below realized its protectors had been defeated.

With a deep
sigh of resignation, Captain Latium leaned back in his command chair, awaiting
death. He wished he could have seen Lakiam one last time. His last thoughts
were of his wife and daughter, and then a black beam swept through the Command
and Control Center, wiping everything out of existence.

-

All enemy
forces have been eliminated
, reported Military Commander Mardok.
We lost
sixty-two of our cruisers, and the other mothership suffered moderate damage as
reported earlier. They further report they can still carry out the mission
against the planet
. Mardok was concerned for his own well-being as Prince
Brollen could order Mardok’s deletion. No military commander had ever lost as
many ships as he had in a single battle since coming to this universe.

Prince Brollen
nodded. This battle had been much more costly than he had believed possible.
The report of the strength of some of these food species would have to be sent
to the Conclave Habitat to ensure all motherships on harvesting missions were
adequately protected. Thousands of cruisers still remained at the Vorn
habitats. For a moment he toyed with the thought of ordering Military Commander
Mardok’s deletion. However, he had fought the battle well and could not have
known the danger of the food species’ deadly missiles.

Take us in
,
broadcast Prince Brollen telepathically.
It’s time to begin the harvesting
.

-

The two
motherships and the remaining black cruisers went into orbit above Visth Prime.
The energy beam satellites and the small patrol ships opened fire and were
instantly annihilated. Their meager weapons were useless against the black
ships. It only took the black fleet a few minutes to destroy all of them. In
space above Visth Prime, small bright antimatter explosions marked their
passing.

Huge hatches
on the two motherships slid open, and the black harvester beams lashed out to
strike the planet below. In moments nutrients for the Vorn race reached the
ships via the tractor beams inside each of the harvester beams. It would take hours,
but the planet would be fully harvested and its bountiful food collected. Then
the ships would move out and continue the harvest of the orbiting habitats, the
other planets, and the moons of the system. When the Vorns left, there would be
no surviving higher life-forms. They would have all been converted to food for
the hungry Vorn race and their Hive Queens.

“I can’t
believe that both Grantz and Lomatz are here at Newton,” said Keera, shaking
her head in disapproval. “What do they want? Is this one of Grantz’s schemes to
get more gold from you? You’re way too generous with him as it is.” She stood
in their apartment with her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

Kurt let out a
deep sigh. He had just finished a long and difficult meeting with Governor
Spalding. For over a week they had been negotiating with Lomatz over the six
Protector Worlds’ warships he had in his possession. Kurt had taken both
Governor Spalding and General Mclusky to tour the
Aurelia
to see exactly
what Lomatz was offering. The technology on the Lakiam warships was
breathtaking and necessary for Newton and Earth’s defense, and both men had
been impressed, particularly when told about the firepower the six ships
possessed. Having them in the Newton fleet would mean future threats from the
Profiteers would come to an end.

Governor
Spalding was still not fully convinced and had scheduled another meeting with
Lomatz for later in the day at his office. The governor had a few more
questions he wanted clarified before he agreed to anything with the Kubitz
weapons dealer. Kurt had taken a few hours off to rest and spend some time with
Keera.

“I’m not sure
what Grantz is up to,” admitted Kurt, reaching out his arms to take Keera by
the waist. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her gently on the lips.
“Andrew is keeping an eye on him.”

Keera looked
into Kurt’s eyes. “How is Andrew feeling?”

“Better,”
answered Kurt, running his right hand gently up Keera’s back. “Since he checked
out of the medical center, he’s been spending most of his time at home with his
wife and daughter. He’s been aching for something to do, so I assigned him to
keep on eye on our Profiteer.”

“Knowing how
he feels about Grantz, you couldn’t have a better person watching your greedy
friend.” Keera leaned up against Kurt and closed her eyes. “How much time do
you have before this next meeting?”

“A couple of
hours,” Kurt answered in a softer and more suggestive voice.

Keera leaned
back and smiled. “That should be just long enough. You know what kind of mood
running your hand across my back puts me in.”

Kurt nodded.
That had been the general idea.

-

Keera took
Kurt’s hand and led him into their comfortable bedroom. Some passionate
lovemaking would take her mind off her brother and his girlfriend. She had
found the two of them a nearby apartment and Dalen a job working in
construction. He was very good at programming and operating the small work
robots now currently used to help build homes and other infrastructure on the
planet. She still worried about her brother since Meesa had mentioned that, on
several nights, he had come home very late.

Her attention
was brought back to Kurt as he unbuttoned her blouse. Already her breathing was
heavier, and her heart was beating faster. She would worry about her brother
later; for now she wanted to concentrate on Kurt and what they were about to
do.

-

Governor
Spalding was in his office with General Mclusky. “Well, what do you think?”

Mclusky sat
down in one of the comfortable chairs in front of the governor’s desk. “Those
ships are damn impressive. The
Aurelia
by itself could keep the
Profiteers away from Newton and Earth. If we could apply that technology to the
rest of our fleet, we’d have a hell of a lot of firepower.”

“Lomatz is
offering us all six of those advanced warships if we agree to allow some of his
people to settle on Newton.” Spalding knew Fleet Admiral Vickers wanted those
ships, particularly if the mysterious black ships put in an appearance. “I’m
just not certain allowing Lomatz’s people access to Newton is worth the change
in our society. Most of these people will be from Kubitz, and you know what
that planet is like.”

Mclusky stood
up and walked over to a large map of Newton on one of the walls. He put his
finger on a big island off the coast of one of the planet’s main continents.
“This island is uninhabited and large enough to hold the people Lomatz wants to
bring to Newton. There’s enough room to allow for considerable expansion of
their population without having to worry about them spilling over onto the
mainland. We could put a couple military spy satellites in geosynchronous orbit
above the island to keep an eye on them.”

Spalding
walked to the map and gazed thoughtfully at the island Mclusky had pointed out.
“This will be a very advanced culture we’re inviting to Newton. There’s a lot
we could probably learn from them.”

“As you said
earlier, many of the people Lomatz wants to bring will be from Kubitz,”
cautioned the general. “They’ll have to agree to abide by our laws.”

“I think that
can be arranged,” Spalding answered. “If Lomatz wants to come here desperately
enough, he’ll have to agree to some restrictions on his peoples’ activities.”

Mclusky
nodded. “Just keep in mind Lomatz is used to tough negotiations, and I’m sure
he expects to come out ahead in anything we agree to.”

After Kurt had
first brought up the subject of the advanced warships in Lomatz’s possession, Spalding
had known all along that he would be forced to accommodate the weapons dealer’s
request to bring twenty thousand of his people to Newton. Spalding just wanted
to ensure Lomatz didn’t have some ulterior motive. It also concerned him that
all of this was due to the black ships. If Lomatz felt the Gothan Empire wasn’t
safe from them, what about Earth and Newton?

“I’ll have
some information on that island put together for the meeting later today,” Spalding
said, realizing the island might be the ideal solution. It had a nice climate
and was large enough to accommodate whatever Lomatz and his people might need.
However, one thing he had learned from speaking to Kurt about Kubitz, in any
deal was to get as much from it as possible. Governor Spalding wanted to know
what Lomatz had in those ten large cargo ships he had brought to the Newton
System.

-

It was mid
afternoon when Kurt arrived at the governor’s office. He had grabbed a quick
bite to eat after leaving Keera in bed sound asleep. Kurt wished he could have
stayed in bed with her instead of coming to this meeting. However, he hoped
Governor Spalding was finally ready to make a deal with Lomatz. If they wanted
to make Earth and Newton safer, Kurt needed those ships and the technology they
represented.

Entering the
governor’s office, he saw Spalding, General Mclusky, Grantz, Colonel Hayworth,
and Lomatz were waiting. “Sorry I’m late,” Kurt said. “I had some business I
had to take care of.”

“You’re not
late. You’re right on time,” said Spalding, indicating for Kurt to sit. Taking
a deep breath, the governor turned toward Lomatz. “We may have found a place to
settle your people. However, before we discuss that, I want to know what’s on
board those cargo ships of yours and why you brought two of your construction
ships to Newton.”

Lomatz looked
long and hard at the governor before replying. “Profiteer Grantz suggested I
sweeten the pot with additional incentives. If my people come to Newton, I want to ensure they’re well-protected. With your permission, my two construction
ships will build an additional construction bay onto Newton Station. This bay
will be capable of constructing ships with the same technology and weapons as
the
Aurelia
. It will also be able to convert your current ships to the
new technology.”

“How long to
build this new construction bay and one battlecruiser based on Lakiam
specifications?” asked Colonel Hayworth, his eyes glowing with interest.

“Two months to
build the bay and it will be capable of building two battlecruisers every six
weeks since the entire process will be almost completely automated. It also
won’t be necessary to build the new battlecruisers as large as the Lakiams did
for the
Aurelia
. The new battlecruisers will be a combination of Lakiam,
Andock, and several other Protector Worlds’ technology. My ship construction
people have already worked up a main design for your approval, based on your
current battlecruiser configuration.”

“Would it be
possible to convert our other two construction bays?” asked Hayworth, thinking
of the possibilities.

“It would,”
confirmed Lomatz with a slow nod of his head.

“I thought
this technology was banned in the Gothan Empire,” interjected Kurt, trying not
to sound too excited about building new advanced warships at such a high speed.

“We’re not in
the Gothan Empire,” Grantz pointed out. “The Protector Worlds didn’t want their
technology used against them in raids. For generations they have made it plain
that, if certain types of technology were to appear in the empire, the
Protector Worlds would come and remove it. But Newton isn’t in the Gothan
Empire, and that’s why Lomatz can give you the technology.”

“I also won’t
be telling anyone what I’m doing,” Lomatz added.

Kurt slowly
nodded his head. “How did you become familiar with the technology from the
Protector Worlds? I thought they guarded their advanced sciences to ensure none
of the Gothan Empire worlds could get their hands on it.” Some things Lomatz
and Grantz had mentioned were confusing to Kurt.

Lomatz looked
directly at Kurt and then replied. “Every since my encounter with that
mysterious advanced race, I’ve been looking into Protector World and
Enlightened World technology. Some of it, when modified so it’s not quite as
advanced, can be sold at a handsome profit. I have a complete staff of research
scientists and technicians who work on this full time. Whenever a Profiteer
fleet captures a cargo ship or passenger ship from an advanced world and brings
it back to Kubitz, I send several of my people on board to see if any
technology might be of interest. So my people have a decent understanding of
the technology used on the Protector Worlds and even to a point that is used on
the Enlightened Worlds as well.”

“You still
haven’t told us what’s on board your cargo ships,” Governor Spalding reminded
the weapons dealer.

Lomatz took a
small metal disk from one of his pockets. “If I bring my people here to be part
of your civilization, I want to ensure they’re protected from retaliation. I
want this planet to be as strongly defended as possible.”

“What do you
mean, retaliation?” demanded Governor Spalding suspiciously. “I thought you
said the Gothan Empire would do nothing since we’re not a part of it.”

Lomatz looked
uneasily at Spalding before replying. “The technology I’m willing to give you
is banned by both the Protector Worlds and the Enlightened Worlds to
civilizations below a certain level of advancement. However, due to the threat
of the Destroyers of Worlds, I don’t believe it will be an issue. Also the
defenses I’m willing to provide you with will most likely prevent any
repercussions from the technology I’m willing to share.”

“Who would
retaliate?”

“Possibly
several of the Protector Worlds if they learn what I’ve done,” Lomatz admitted.
“But, like I said, as far out as Newton is, the odds of that occurring are very
low. The Protector Worlds are too busy worrying about the black ships and their
attacks on the Enlightened Worlds. The odds of any of them finding out what
we’re doing out here is infinitesimal. Also, if you ever want to stand a chance
at protecting your worlds from the black ships, you need this technology.”

Kurt leaned
back in his chair and gazed fixedly at Lomatz. “And just what type of defenses
are we talking about?”

Lomatz placed
the small disk on Governor Spalding’s desk and activated it. Instantly a
massive defensive platform appeared. “This is a Class One Defensive Platform.
It’s ten times more powerful than the Type Twos you currently have. I can
provide you with sixty-four of these. Pressing a small button on the side of
the disk, another massive structure appeared. “This is a Type One Command and
Control Station. It has the firepower of ten Lakiam battlecruisers. I can also
provide you with an additional two hundred dual-firing energy beam satellites.”

“How much will
this cost us?” asked Kurt, knowing these types of defenses must cost a fortune.
However, the satellites alone would solve some of their problems. It would
allow them to place sufficient satellites above both Earth and Julbian to deter
any future Profiteer attack.

Lomatz focused
his eyes on Kurt. “It’s expensive, but I’m willing to reduce the cost to 70
percent of what it took to build them. The Protector Worlds, as well as a
number of Enlightened Worlds, recently placed massive orders for Class One
defensive systems. Numerous construction yards across the Gothan Empire are
currently in the process of building hundreds of these systems. It wasn’t hard
for me to get these, using my connections with those who owe me some favors.
With the right inducements, I can ensure no one will know where this particular
system went.”

“Bribes,”
commented Grantz approvingly. “They will have to be quite large to ensure
everyone keeps their mouths shut.”

General
Mclusky looked hungrily at the massive structure displayed above Governor
Spalding’s desk. “What would this type of defensive system mean if the
Profiteers were to attack Newton?”

“They
wouldn’t,” answered Lomatz with a confident look. “A system like this would
wipe them out before they could even open fire. It would also discourage most
Protector World ships from entering the system as well.”

Governor
Spalding let out a deep breath. He couldn’t turn Lomatz’s offer down, not now.
Purchasing this system would also come very close to depleting their gold
reserves. “There’s a large island off the coast of one of our primary
continents that would be ideal for your people. It’s big enough to allow space
for future development as well as population expansion.”