The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (26 page)

-

Undetected by
the Vorn ships were the forty Dacroni battleships on the outskirts of the
system, operating in full stealth mode.

“They’re
here,” softly reported Raster, Clan Leader Masak’s second in command.

Masak nodded
as he stared at the numerous red threat icons in the tactical display. His face
was similar to a Human’s but rounder and chunkier. His neck was shorter with
his head almost resting on his torso. Masak was dressed in dark gray battle
armor, impervious to most weapons fire. His flagship, the
Iron Victory
,
was the most modern battleship in the Gothan Empire. He had spared no expense
to arm it with the most powerful weapons possible and an energy shield stronger
than those possessed by other clans.

“This is a
dangerous mission we’re undertaking,” said Raster as he adjusted a viewscreen
and one of the spindle-shaped black ships appeared. They had seeded the system
with small, inexpensive satellites, capable of transmitting a video feed over
long distances. Several of them were in range of the recently arrived black
fleet.

“We must know
how big a danger these new aliens are,” responded Masak. “The Profiteers, the
Controllers, and all the great clans grow more worried about what these
invaders may mean to our profits. Already many clans refuse to leave the empire
on raids for fear of leading this new enemy back to our worlds.”

Raster
gestured toward the viewscreen, showing the spindle-shaped black ship. “At
least we know they’re real.”

“Yes,” said
Masak, standing up and striding over to the viewscreen to look more closely at
it. “But where did they come from? Look at that fleet! Over six hundred vessels,
and three of them are larger than anything we’ve ever seen before.”

“Rumors are
flying around Kubitz how these are the ancient Destroyers of Worlds,” Raster
informed Masak. “A lot of loose tongues at the pleasure houses tell the tale and
even a few reports about raiding parties encountering fleets of these vessels.
Entire fleets of raiders in several instances have failed to return home after
traveling to Enlightened World colonies to pick off a cargo ship or take over a
passenger liner.”

“That’s why
we’re here,” Masak said as he turned and went back to his command chair. “We’ve
been paid a handsome sum to test the strength of our battleships against these
black ships. Nearly all their vessels are of cruiser size and should be no
match for our warships.”

“But the
Protector Worlds have engaged the black ships and reportedly been defeated in
every instance,” protested Raster with deep concern. “What can we hope to do
against these vessels?”

“
Plhtup
!”
roared Masak, his face showing anger. “What do the Protector Worlds know of
war? Most of their captains have never been tested in battle. I believe that
lack of experience led to their defeats. All our ships are battle-tested, and
we have experienced crews. We will show these black ships the Dacroni
mercenaries are not to be trifled with.”

Masak felt
confident in his words. He and his fleet had been sent here to assess the
danger posed by the black ships, and to gather information on their weapons and
battle tactics. The only way to do that was in combat mode. Masak intended to
jump in, engage the enemy, gather the necessary information, and then, if the
battle went poorly, he would jump his fleet back into the safety of hyperspace
and return to the Gothan Empire.

“Enemy fleet
is inbound toward Ralla,” reported the sensor operator. “They’re not in any
hurry. It will take them nearly two hours to reach the planet.”

“The planet
has a small defense grid,” reported Raster as he studied the information they
had on the system. “It has a few Class Two Defense Platforms and less than
twenty orbital dual-energy cannon satellites. Everything is controlled from the
ground.”

“I’m picking
up messages from Ralla being broadcast to the black fleet,” reported the
communications officer. “The planet is offering to surrender if the black fleet
will promise not to bombard the surface.”

“Is there any
response from the enemy fleet?”

The
communications officer listened for a few moments and then shook his head. “No,
there’s no response at all. I can’t pick up any type of communication signals
between the black ships. It’s as if they’re not communicating at all.”

“That’s
preposterous,” said Raster in disbelief. “Some communication must go on between
their warships. How else can they adjust their strategy in battle?”

The
communications officer shook his head. “It’s possible they’re using some form
of communication we’re not familiar with.”

The lack of
communication between the black ships bothered Clan Leader Masak. It was
inexplicable. “We’ll wait until the enemy engages the defensive grid around
Ralla and then jump in behind them. All ships will open fire with every weapon
as soon as they exit hyperspace.”

“We have two
hours then,” muttered Raster as he settled down to wait.

-

The Vorn fleet
continued to close with the planet Ralla. All across the star system, various cargo
ships, mining ships, and passenger liners fled in panic as they heard reports
of the black ships’ presence. The ships had been detected visually on several
satellites as well as the orbital astronomical stations above Ralla. From Ralla
the message was plain and simple: flee now; spread the word of the presence of
the black ships, and ask all available Protector World ships to come to our aid
before it’s too late.

On the planet’s
surface, alarm and panic spread. From the tall city towers, citizens stepped
off balconies, spreading their wings and fleeing into the countryside. Many
headed toward the distant mountains, hoping to take refuge in the huge aviaries
that had sheltered their race in the distant past.

The government
continued to broadcast their willingness to surrender, but it fell on deaf ears
as the black ships refused to respond. In the government communications center,
which maintained FTL communications with thousands of worlds, there were no
incoming messages. All communications had been cut off. The Rallians
responsible for governing their world knew doom was in front of them. There
would be no escape from the black ships, and very soon the world of Ralla would
join the growing list of dead and destroyed Enlightened World colonies.

-

Prince Brollen
watched the viewscreens with anticipation as the
Reaper
and her
attending fleet steadily drew closer to their target world. An avian species
was not often found that was civilized enough to be harvested.

Only light
defenses surround their world
, Military Commander Mardok reported as he
readied the fleet to attack.

On one of the
viewscreens, a large defensive platform appeared. Even as Prince Brollen
watched, several energy projectors fired upon his ships. He was not concerned
as he knew the energy would only be absorbed by his fleet’s defensive shields.

Destroy
their orbital defenses as well as all structures around the planet
, sent
Prince Brollen. In orbit above the planet were a large number of structures.
Prince Brollen knew some of these would be shipyards, others research stations,
and even a few were artificial habitats. It was standard procedure for the Vorn
to wipe out all visages of a civilization.

Suddenly
alarms sounded, and the crew tensed up. On the main tactical display, large red
threat icons appeared behind the fleet.

What are
those
? demanded Prince Brollen. These ships had not been detected by the
mothership’s sensors.

Unknown
vessels
, Military Commander Mardok responded as he checked the ship’s
sensors.
They’re firing on us
.

-

The forty
Dacroni battleships opened fire with their energy projectors, direct energy
cannons, and their powerful sublight antimatter missiles. Fifty-megaton
antimatter missiles struck the shields of the black ships, releasing torrents
of deadly energy. Across the black fleet, massive explosions washed across
their energy screens as thousands of megatons of antimatter energy was
released. While the amount of energy released was huge, the shields of the
black ships drank it up as if it were nothing.

-

“We’re not
causing any damage!” gasped Raster, his eyes opening wide in disbelief. “It’s
as if the energy from our weapons is being absorbed by their defensive
screens.”

Clan Leader
Masak leaned forward in his command chair. He hadn’t expected their weapons to
be so ineffective. “Have all ships switch to targeting just one ship. We must
know if we can knock down their shields.” If they couldn’t at least inflict
some damage, this would be devastating news to the Gothan Empire and all the
Profiteer clans.

“New target
located, and coordinates sent to all ships,” replied the tactical officer. “I’m
ordering a full spread of antimatter missiles fired, followed up by a complete
barrage from the fleet’s direct energy cannons.”

Masak gazed at
the ship’s primary viewscreen, which was focused on the target. He held his
breath, waiting for the first antimatter missiles to strike. Suddenly the
screen flared up with brilliance as the spindle-shaped cruiser seemed to vanish
under the tremendous amounts of energy released by two hundred antimatter warheads.
As the energy faded away, Masak was astounded to see the ship was still there,
though its energy screen glowed brightly. A direct energy beam struck the dark
ship’s screen, and then dozens more, until all forty Dacroni battleships were
pouring every erg of power available into the beams. The shield flared brighter,
and then suddenly it seemed to shatter. A massive explosion lit up space as the
energy held in the screen was released, obliterating the black ship and leaving
behind nothing but a drifting cloud of glowing gas.

“We got it!”
roared Raster, his eyes glowing with satisfaction.

“Enemy is
firing!” reported the Dacroni at the sensor console. “It’s some type of black
energy sphere.”

“All ships
jump into hyperspace immediately!” ordered Clan Leader Masak. He had heard
rumors about this weapon. If it struck any of his ships, they were dead.

The Dacroni
ships rapidly reversed course, but, for many of the battleships, it was too
late. The spheres of black antimatter accelerated too fast for the ships to
escape into hyperspace. Fourteen Dacroni battleships were struck by the deadly
spheres. The spheres spread out across the ships’ screens, absorbing the energy
and then attaching to the armored hulls of the ships themselves. In just
moments fourteen deadly warships were drifting powerless in space. From the
black ships, hatches slid open, and small antimatter missiles flew out to
strike the helpless vessels. In brilliant explosions the ships died, leaving
behind shattered wreckage and wisps of glowing plasma.

-

The enemy
fleet has withdrawn
, Military Commander Mardok reported. He was aggravated
that another Vorn warship had been destroyed.
We destroyed fourteen of their
vessels before they fled into hyperspace
.

The food
species of this galaxy are learning fast
, sent Prince Brollen as he gazed
at the glowing wreckage on the viewscreens.
Finish the destruction of the
planet’s orbital infrastructure. I grow impatient to taste this new food
species
.

-

In hyperspace,
Clan Leader Masak stared in shock at the long-range sensors showing his ships.
Fourteen of his valuable battleships were missing.

“Destroyed in
less than a minute!” said Raster, his eyes wide open in shock and disbelief.
“How can that be?”

“We face an
old and ancient race,” replied Masak, settling back in his command chair.
“Their weapons are far superior to our own.”

“At least we
know they can be destroyed.”

“Yes, but at
what cost? It would take nearly every ship possessed by all the Profiteer clans
as well as our own to stop a fleet the size we saw back in the Ralla System.
What if they attack with two or three fleets of that size?”

Raster
remained quiet as he thought over the significance of those words.

Masak knew this
information would not be well received by the Gothan Empire. Only the main
worlds of the empire and the strongest clans knew of this new danger. He didn’t
know if it would even be possible to get the entire empire to work together for
its common defense. The Controllers and the desire for credits held the Gothan
Empire together. This was something else entirely. He had a nagging worry that
the way of life in the empire was about to change and not for the better.

Kurt was at
his sister’s along with Keera. It had been an exhausting two weeks with both
Mara and Tarnth refusing to cooperate with the Newton government. Both had
demanded they be allowed to return home immediately. Until that demand was
guaranteed, there would be no discussions on the Destroyers of Worlds or of the
Aurelia
. This was different from what Mara had agreed to earlier, and
Kurt strongly suspected it was due to her speaking with Tarnth. After an
argument with Lomatz, Kurt had confined the two to their personal quarters on
the Lakiam ship. Lomatz had wanted to put them back in detention.

“So you have
an alien battleship,” stated Bryan from across the dinner table where they all
sat. “Are you learning to fly it so you can kill a lot of the bad aliens?”

Kurt laughed. Bryan had such a simple way of putting things. “We’re still learning. It’s a big ship and
much different than what we’re used to.”

“Can you take
me to see it?” asked Bryan, his face lighting up with excitement. “I bet I
could learn to fly it. There’s bound to be some buttons to push to make it go.”

Keera gave Bryan a gentle smile. “We all wish it was that simple. But there’s a lot more involved
with flying a spaceship than just pressing buttons.”

“But you have
the alien woman to teach you,” said Bryan, looking confused. “Why won’t she
help?”

“She’s not
like us,” explained Alex, reaching for the gravy to pour over his mashed
potatoes.

Denise looked
at her husband and Bryan, who was sitting next to him. “Your father’s right.
Not all people are like us. I’m sure, after a while, she’ll come around and
help Uncle Kurt with the ship.”

“Do you really
need her?” asked Alex, shifting his attention back to Kurt. “I thought Lomatz’s
people knew how to operate the Lakiam vessel.”

Kurt let out a
deep sigh. “It would make everything a lot easier. The engineers and
technicians Lomatz brought know a lot. However, none of them have ever operated
a warship like the
Aurelia
. I have a crew on board that’s working on
learning everything they can teach them, but it’s not the same as having an
experienced crewmember explaining and demonstrating how all the controls work. We
have no idea what some controls on the panels do.”

Denise spoke
to Keera. “You’re more familiar with these types of people. Didn’t you do your
medical training on an Enlightened World?”

“Yes, Karash,”
answered Keera. “The Lakiams are a very proud people and well on their way to
Enlightenment. As a result, they have become arrogant and look down on people
less civilized than they are. I can talk to her, but I don’t know if it will do
any good.”

“What about
this Tarnth fellow?” asked Alex. “Would he be any easier to speak with?”

“I doubt it,”
Keera answered, frowning. “Our best shot would be with Mara. She’s more likely
to listen to reason than Tarnth will.”

Kurt focused
on his plate, stirring his mashed potatoes with his fork. Fleet Admiral
Tomalson had arrived from Earth with a fortune in gold. After what they had
agreed to pay Lomatz for the new defensive system, the additional gold had
replenished their gold reserves plus much more. Tomalson had been stunned when
Kurt took him on board the
Aurelia
for a tour.

Kurt had another
meeting with Tomalson scheduled on the
Star Cross
to discuss the
upcoming Profiteer attack on Earth. When the passenger liner returned—carrying
the crews from the two cargo ships captured by the Tellurites—Marvin Tenner had
also sent word that the Profiteer attack could happen any day. The Human crews
had already been sent back to Earth. Kurt was certain their harrowing story of
what had happened to them would ensure there would be no more ships heading
toward the Gothan Empire for quite some time.

“What does
this alien lady look like?” asked Bryan. “Does she have wings?”

Kurt laughed. Bryan always asked about winged aliens. Keera had told him there were some on a few
distant worlds. “No, not Mara. She looks very Human.”

“She’s
extremely beautiful,” said Keera, glancing at Kurt meaningfully. “The Lakiams
use genetic manipulation to ensure their bodies are perfect. Mara is nearly
seven feet tall and has deep blue eyes. She also has golden hair.”

“What’s
genetic manipulation?” asked Bryan, carefully pronouncing the words.

“You’ll learn
about that when you get older,” Denise said.

“It’s an adult
thing then,” said Bryan, nodding his head in understanding.

They were
interrupted by Keera’s cell phone ringing. Frowning, she answered it, and then
a very upset look swept across her face.

“What is it?”
asked Denise, sensing something was wrong.

“It’s my
brother,” Keera said in an exasperated voice. “He’s been arrested.”

“Arrested!”
Alex said. “For what?”

“What else?”
responded Keera, anger spreading across her face. “He was setting up a black
market to sell stolen information.”

“How the hell
did he get involved in something like that?” asked Kurt, frowning. “He’s
working with construction robots.”

Keera stood up,
looking at Kurt. “We’ll find out when we talk to him. Meesa is down at the main
police station, waiting for us.”

Kurt let out a
deep breath. Police stations on Newton very seldom had to deal with crime. They
spent most of their time making sure nothing illegal came in from Earth on all
the cargo and passenger ships going back and forth. They also helped explain to
new colonists the laws on Newton and occasionally issued fines for minor
violations.

“Is Uncle
Dalen in jail?” asked Bryan, his eyes growing very large at the thought.

“No,” Denise
said, shaking her head. Bryan started calling Dalen his uncle as soon as he
learned Kurt and Keera were living together. “He’s just in a little bit of
trouble. Uncle Kurt and Aunt Keera will take care of it.”

“Good,” said Bryan. “I like Uncle Dalen. He’s a lot of fun and a good ballplayer. Maybe they can just
put him in a time-out.”

-

It only took a
few minutes to drive to the main police station, a tall building that dealt in
law enforcement as well as indoctrinating new colonists into life on Newton. Inside, they were ushered into a waiting room where a nervous Meesa sat, her hands
clasped tightly together.

“Keera!” she
cried out, standing up and rushing to hug her. “I’m so glad you could come. I
don’t know what to do. The police here aren’t like the Enforcers back on
Kubitz. On Kubitz you would just pay a fine, and that would be all.”

Keera nodded
her understanding. “I told you and Dalen everything’s different here. What’s he
done now?”

“I’m not
sure,” Meesa replied. “He’s been coming home late, and all he would ever say
was he was working overtime.”

An officer
walked in and paused, waiting for Kurt to acknowledge him. After all, Kurt was
the fleet admiral.

“What are the
charges against Dalen Jelk?” Kurt was anxious to find out how much trouble
Dalen was in. Meesa was highly upset, and he knew Keera was as well.

“He’s been
taking apart the small work robots he’s in charge of. He’s been building some
high-tech devices that allow you to spy on people kilometers away. We found out
about it when some local businessmen complained about some of their trade
secrets being stolen and offered for sale.”

“Snoopers,”
commented Keera in disgust. “He’s built snoopers to spy on people.”

“What are
snoopers?” asked Kurt. This was something he had never heard of.

“They’re small
flying robots a little larger than your thumb. They’re highly complicated, but
they can record sound and video. They’re widely used on Kubitz to spy on
everyone and everything.”

Kurt wished
Keera had mentioned this before. He would have to warn Marvin Tenner about this
and have him take some additional security precautions at the compound on
Kubitz. “What do we need to do to get him released?”

“I can release
him into your custody,” the officer replied. “If you will just sign a few forms,
he can go home with you now.”

“How serious
are the charges?” asked Keera. The legal system on Newton was just as confusing
to her as the one on Kubitz.

“I think I can
arrange for all the charges to be dropped,” the officer replied. “But if this
happens again, he could lose his colonist status.”

“What would
that mean?” asked Meesa worriedly.

“He would have
to go back to Kubitz,” answered Kurt. He didn’t want that to happen. Keera had been
happy with Dalen safely on Newton and supposedly working a decent job. Kurt
knew the only way to fix this was to have a heart-to-heart talk with Dalen. He
would also assign a security guard to watch Dalen for a few days to help stress
how serious he was. Perhaps if he put a scare into the man, it would force him
to straighten up.

After signing
some papers, the officer brought a quiet Dalen to them.

“Dalen!” said
Keera, her eyes looking stormy. “What did I warn you about? How could you do
something like this?”

“I’m sorry,”
answered Dalen, looking nervously at Kurt. “I didn’t think this was that big of
a deal. It’s standard business practice back on Kubitz.”

“This isn’t
Kubitz!” Keera said angrily, her hands on her hips and her eyes focused so
intently on her brother that he had to turn away. “If you do anything like this
again, you’ll be returned to Kubitz!”

Dalen turned
pale at hearing this. “It won’t happen again,” he promised, looking pleadingly
at Meesa, who had tears in her eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stay here on
Newton and keep Meesa safe.”

Kurt nodded.
“Walk with me, Dalen. We’ll have a little man-to-man talk.”

Meesa watched
as the two men went through the exit. “What’ll happen? What’s Kurt going to do?”

Keera allowed
herself to smile. She could just imagine what Kurt was saying to Dalen. If
anyone could force Dalen to change his path in life, it was Kurt. “Don’t worry.
I suspect everything will be fine. We’ll give the men a few minutes and then go
join them.”

“Thank you,
Keera,” Meesa said. “You’ve been so helpful since we came to Kubitz. I don’t
know what I can do to ever repay you.”

“Just keep my
brother happy,” Keera replied. “And, if you ever suspect he’s up to something
illegal, call me immediately, and I’ll come over and kick his butt.”

“I will,”
promised Meesa, her eyes wide. “I won’t let anything like this happen again.”

Keera nodded.
She hoped not. Her life on Newton was exciting enough without her brother
causing problems.

-

The next day
Kurt was aboard the
Star Cross
, meeting with Fleet Admiral Tomalson,
Rear Admiral Jacob Wilson, Rear Admiral Susan White, Colonel Simms, and Colonel
Hayworth. Admiral White had just returned with the
Ranger
from the
Julbian System after being relieved by the light carriers
Wasp
and
Ticonderoga
.

“I just toured
the
Aurelia
,” commented Susan with a look of amazement in her eyes. “I
can’t believe such a ship exists.”

“It’s real,”
Kurt replied. “As well as the other five Protector World ships Lomatz has made
available to us.”

Colonel
Hayworth only shook his head. “They’re wonderful warships if we can figure out
how to run them. We’ve spent days training people on the
Aurelia
, and I
would still be afraid to even move her out of orbit without Lomatz’s
technicians assisting.”

“It’s that
complicated?” asked Rear Admiral Wilson, looking at Kurt. Wilson’s flagship was
the heavy carrier,
Kepler
.

“It’s not that
it’s so complicated. The entire ship is almost completely automated. We’re
still figuring out what some of the controls on the main consoles do. You can
push a button or touch a computer icon on one of the screens, and nothing
happens.”

“Is there any
chance the two Lakiams will cooperate and show us how to operate their ships?”
asked Fleet Admiral Tomalson. Since coming to Newton, he had been amazed by
everything he had seen.

“We’re still
working on that,” Kurt answered. “Colonel Simms, how’s installation of the new
defensive platforms and command station going?” Kurt was anxious to get them
operational as it would make Newton impervious to any attack except from the
black ships.

Colonel Simms
stood up and walked to a viewscreen. Activating it, a huge defensive platform
appeared. The platform was two hundred meters across and forty meters thick. On
top sat a pair of massive ion cannons, four direct energy cannons, and eight
large energy projectors. Six pods contained eight hypermissiles with an
automatic reloading system. Everything was computer-controlled, and a crew of
twelve could operate the entire platform.

“With the help
of Lomatz’s ships we’ve installed sixteen platforms. We estimate it will take
another three weeks to have the rest up and operational. The Command and
Control Station is already being worked on and should be fully functional when
the last defense platform goes online.”

“That’s good
news,” said Kurt, pleased with the progress. “In the contract we signed on
Kubitz a while back, Lomatz included two regions of space. Do we know what’s
there?” Two light cruisers had been sent out to investigate both regions and were
due back any day. After speaking with Lomatz, Kurt was highly curious as to
what was in the two regions of space.

“We do,” Rear
Admiral Wilson said, laying his right hand palm down on the table. “The light
cruisers
Crescent
and
Olympia
returned today from surveying both
regions. The regions only contain about twenty stars each, but what they found
is exciting. Two inhabited worlds of humanoids who are at approximately the
same technological level as the Julbians. They’ve only just begun to explore
the stars around their systems.”