Chapter 17: Bereaver

Trying to keep a cool head and made sure I didn’t raise my voice even a notch. I didn’t like those commanding officers who barked or yelled orders. I preferred the style of Captain Zezzh and Captain Harris and said. “Mao, full shields, extend Exo-load turret and load both bomb shafts with P Bombs. Har-Hi give me a full damage and casualties report.”

Mao said. “Full real shields activated all weapons active, Bomb shafts loaded and ready for P Bomb deployment.”

Har-Hi looked over his readouts. “The Janus device is damaged, and so is our projected appearance, the simulated Kartanian shields are completely destroyed but our real hull held and received no detectable damage. Petty Chief Gorragh reports a three degree burn after being dosed with hot water in Environmental. Lines are being fixed and the Petty Chief is almost ready for duty again.”

I acknowledged with a Nod.”Elfi hail me that voice on one of those PSION channels we supposed to have.”

“We do have Leedei Psion tech and communication, Channels are open.”

“This is Captain Black Velvet of the Silver Streak. Calling the entity that threatened and attacked us. I am open for dialog and establishing contact. I offer peaceful dialog but I will not accept any further attacks. I have the means to turn your moon into nuclear slack.”

The voice answered “You are the rock breakers. You destroyed Olours. You stole Olours. We are the Conck.”

Another massive bolt of concentrated energy hit the Tigershark.

Mao reported. “Shields at 44 percent. This bolt was stronger than the first, by a magnitude of 120 percent, equal to the Unions strongest FTL cannons.”

I think whoever is down there doesn’t believe me. Mr. Three-Four can your sensors pick up the approximate location of the Kermac escape ship?”

“I am able to narrow it down to a 12 kilometer radius. I can see their distinct energy signatures between all the other disturbances.”

“Close enough. Mao target that area and plant an Exo load. That should take care of the Kermac and show the others we are serious.”

I turned to Narth and said. “Any objections, do you sense anything or do you think you can communicate with them?”

Narth actually shrugged with his shoulders as he said. “There is so much rage, so much anger that I am unable to get through. It is a truly alien mind. I am currently in conversation with the Narth Supreme and no Narth has ever encountered a mind like this. All I can say it appears to be a mind of great power able to manipulate Trans dimensional energies. Narth Supreme suggests that your approach might be as good as any other.”

I wondered if I did the right thing, my orders where clear. Prevent the transform technology to fall in enemy hands and I didn’t have much time. My friends and Shea were in trouble and I knew it had to do with whatever was down there. “Mao, reload TL with a Giga load and fire.”

A Giga load was still developing the equivalent explosive force of a billion tons of High explosives. While such enormous explosive forces affected a target in deep space only by direct impact, as shockwaves could not travel through vacuum, it was an entire different effect when exploding inside an atmosphere. The Anti matter explosion was so intensive; it instantly cleared a huge section of the dense cloud cover and spewed material into space.

I had Elfi hail the Voice again.

“This was a small demonstration of what we can do. Now we didn’t break any rocks before, but I promise you I break any rock on that moon of yours if you continue the hostilities. You accuse us of crimes yet we have never been here before. What shall it be, dialog or war? Not that we need to remain here as our business here is elsewhere.”

“You murdered the gentle ones, the ones that promised to return the children. You abducted and destroyed Olours. The Gentle ones were right, you are a brutal and war mongering species. We have little patience for brutality and the kinds of atrocities marking much of the development of the Galaxies and those who worship Darkness and death.”

“At least we are talking, even if you keep repeating accusing us of crimes we could not have possibly committed as we never been here. If you refer to the Kermac as being the gentle ones you are on the wrong track. And if those Olours resemble a big blue egg like rock then I know where it is. You find it aboard a Kermac ship not far from here and I am willing to return that rock to you, if that stops you from accusing us.”

Narth said. “The mind is confused, it has no concept of ships, colors, big or small, but I cannot go deeper. That mind is not accessible to my probing as other minds are, it would require much study.”

“Shaka get us back to the Kermac ship.”

Three-Four said.”Captain I am picking up sixty very large space ships of unknown configuration but energy readings and material composition points to Kermac origin. None of our data banks have data on 5000 meter Kermac Units. They are heading this way. They are slow but will be here within two hours and thirty minutes away.”

“Narth see if you can restart or reconfigure that Janus Device.”

“I will try Captain. I am getting Shea and the others they are alive, but they are fighting and something aboard that Kermac ship is interfering with GalNet.

“Elfi get me the Admiral before we get to close to that ship.”

Elfi managed to get me a connection tothe Admiral and I talked fast and delivered my report of the events so far.Then I added “I will attempt to rescue my crew from that Kermac T Cruiser, before the Kermac Units arrive. I doubt I can fight sixty of them with or without disguise, but I will try to outrun them”

He said. “I don’t know what is more disturbing, the news of a previously unknown Kermac fleet of this magnitude or their willingness to risk war by entering Freespace in such a show of force. I will raise sector alert and contact the Kermac. You are on your own for now. If at all possible find out what is so important on that moon, that the Kermac risk all this.”

I acknowledged and the Connection faded out as we closed on the Kermac T cruiser.

I said.”Elfi try to hail them with normal Radio frequencies, we are close enough.”

I was out of my seat and on my way to the door when Har-Hi’s voice reached me.”Captain your place is on the bridge. Let me go.”

I didn’t turn.” Elfi you have the bridge. If we do not return before the Kermac arrive, you return to Richter base as fast as you can.” To Har-Hi I said.”Let’s go.”

The IST was too fast for any conversation, but as we both ran down the Corridor of the Marine Deck towards the equipment and deployment lock. I said. “I take your objection serious and you are correct, but that isn’t me. There are times I must remain on the bridge, but not now.”

“We reached the equipment deck jumped into Battle dressers, Ship had already dialed them to the correct equipment and he said as we came back out in Gilgamesh suits. “You are the Captain, I follow you to wherever you lead us, but this isn’t how it supposed to be done.”

I grabbed a boarding ax, not that I needed any additional weapons, but I always trusted bladed weapons more than anything else. We both ran through the membrane field and activated our boot thrusters. This time there was none of the usual fear I had when being in deep space. I was too worried about the others and to eager to get them out and leave before the Kermac came.

Like two miniature rockets propelled to projectile speed we approached the Kermac ship. A Kermac T Cruiser was at last until know the backbone of Kermac war ship technology and used exclusively by Kermac and their closest, most important Thrall species. These ships were formed like the letter T in the human Terran alphabet, with a long rectangular main hull of 450 meters and a cross bar at its end of 250 meters. The hull was 80 meters wide and 67 meters deep. The Crossbar section held the Kermac Version of two ISAH pods on each side. This T cruiser’s aft section was ripped to shreds by our initial attack, but now my suit sensors picked up energy readings of other Gilgamesh suits, sporadic weapon fire. While the Gilgamesh was overall almost a ton lighter than a Quasimodo, it was made of advanced materials and had better shielding, more power, better Computronics and improved weaponry. Har-Hi signaled me that he had seen the energy concentration too and without Psionics or long discussion we worked out a plan and basically decided to come in from the other side.

We entered the ship through a jagged hull breach and into the engineering section.

An Antimatter warhead of our TL sniper cannons had caused this and to see the result close up was sobering, as I noticed the Kermac had also crew quarters in this section. The further we went inside the ship the more evident it became just how effective an antimatter explosion inside a ship was. We moved as fast as we could but I did see the burned out shells of Kermac Battle and space suits, baked and molten in grotesque positions to the charred deck plates. I had no time to reflect on my own handy work, but I somehow understood why the Kermac risked everything to get their hands on the secret of this weapon. I also remembered the twisted wreck of the Seneca and almost like a ghost of my own making I remembered the frozen body of the Garbini.

Now my Comm. System picked up the others and I could hear Hans’s steady voice. “Solack and Forster fall back, and keep an eye on the ceiling and watch where you shoot. We just got to hold the fort till the Captain comes back. He’d never forgive me if we lose the loot and come back one man short.”

“Hans I am here. Forget about the loot, get out if you can, the Tigershark is close by. We need to evacuate fast, more Kermac are on their way.”

“Captain we are facing a highly intelligent life form on silicone, rock basis that is able to teleport and even deflect weapon beams. Shea thinks they use precise gravitation control. The blue egg like thing broke apart in hundreds of little rock things. They can be destroyed but only if you can hit them.”

“That’s all for later. Get out of here and make sure you decontaminate and scan. I don’t want these things aboard the Tigershark. Any casualties?”

“Yes we have wounded, and Shea is in Stasis. I evacuate now, but they are likely to follow us and try to prevent us from leaving.”

“I will distract them, are you all suited?”

“Yes there isn’t any atmosphere left in this ship.”

“Prepare to leave on my signal.”

Har-Hi and I muscled open a heavy air lock and my Dai friend said.”How do you plan to distract something you have no idea what it is?”

“I am going to break some rock.”

Har-Hi sighed as he pointed his gun in the next corridor. “I was afraid you would say that.”

Something the size of a soccer ball, with the form of a large asymmetric pebble appeared right before Har-Hi’s helmet and whatever it was forced him hard and fast to his knees, despite the Gilgamesh suit, the deck plates started to dent and around him. All happened in the blink of an eye, but Har-Hi managed to fire, his weapon bolt was not absorbed by a shield but deflected.