Chapter 10: Battle for SOL Part two

American Fleet

The Abraham Lincoln turned and started firing into the weakened shields of the Washington. Suddenly the shields failed and explosions detonated from the side of the massive ship. Admiral Callaghan grinned as he watched the ship heave as a dozen antimatter rounds slammed into the side of the battleship and half her weapons went down.

"Keep hitting them. Blow those bastards away!" Mathew said with glee in his voice.

"I am sir, do you want me to pull their teeth so we can board or just destroy her?" Commodore Jeff Jones asked from his station.

"Destroy her."

"Sir, weapons are offline," shouted Lieutenant Sonja Anderson.

"Engines offline," came from the engineering station.

"Sensors are down," came from Commander Basket from the sensor station.

"Sir I have reports from throughout the ship. Weapons, shields, everything is going off line and won't reboot ... wait a second, weapons are online. OH MY GOD!" Commodore Jeff Jones said as he looked at the main screen that changed to show two destroyers.

The American battleship Abraham Lincoln turned and fired one massive barrage at the destroyers.

Aboard USS Gerald Ford, the crew was going about their duties as they fired into the two assault cruisers. Their shields were glowing bright white from all the antimatter that was hitting her as she was forced to fire into both ships. With one of the cruisers on each side of her, she was not able to concentrate her full power on just one target.

Captain Andy Hebert watched the two cruisers that had been identified as the Orca and Grizzly. The ship gave a lurch as a quadrant of his shields failed and a pulse laser slammed into the bridge tower above him. Alarms sounded and he glanced at the damage control board he had up on his secondary screen. His quarters were flashing bright red and he knew his cat was dead.

"Son of a bitch! I have had enough of this. All guns target the Orca and blow her away," Andy snarled in anger.

"Yes ... Sir, weapons down," came the shocking report from Ensign Wilma Waymen.

"Shields down," replied the engineer officer, and he continued, power going down throughout the ship.

"The enemy has stopped firing," shouted Lieutenant Hanson form sensors.

"What the hell is going on?" Andy shouted and continued, "get everything back online."

Federation Fleet

The Yamato had latched onto the USS Jimmy Carter and the USS Ronald Regan. All three battleships were aglow in antimatter explosions. So blinding was the glare that even the sensors couldn't see the three ships and then the glare went out and all three ships sat there in space.

Aboard the Yamato, Anya looked over at Nancy and started to ask what was going on when she blinked out. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the weapons station and tried to bring the weapons back online. Pounding the holographic display board she shouted, "What is going on?"

American Fleet

The USS Harry S Truman was heading out system with her bridge crew dead when her engines went off line and her bow thrusters fired and she came to a dead stop. Around the ship, the crew initiated repairs, and tried to get the ship back into the fight. Every time they brought a system online, it went down again.

Captain Isaiah Rosenberg of the USS John F. Kennedy got to his feet as the lights went off on the bridge and the emergency ones came online.

"What happened?" Isaiah asked.

"Sir, everything is offline, and I mean everything. Weapons, sensors, shields, engines, the only thing we have is environmental and life support," Commander James Madison reported.

"Shit, well get damage control working on it. Find out what the hell is going on."

"I am ... Sir, the Lincoln is firing."

Across the battle zone, the USS Abraham Lincoln fired her main weapons at the American ships Fletcher and Aaron Ward. The firepower of the huge ship ripped into the sterns of the two destroyers and their engines blew up as they were caught by surprise.

Federation Fleet

"Sir, the Yamato, Orca, Grizzly and America are all dead in space," Jessica reported.

Ken turned to look at Jessica to ask her a question when she vanished, and all powered systems on the bridge went out.

"What the hell?" Ken asked as he stood up, and continued, "Where the hell is Jessica?"

"Sir, engines and sensors just went off line," Stella Salaneo reported.

"Weapons off line," Lieutenant Sherry Days reported from the weapons station.

"Well, get them back online, we have a battle to win," Ken said as he watched the enemy battleship floating less than a thousand miles off his damaged bow.

"Sir, report from the main bridge. Amy is missing as well," Aiko reported from CIC.

Ken's eyes went wide at this news. Then it hit him, as the regulations went through his mind, and he sat down hard in his chair.

Court

They sat at a white horseshoe table. Everything was white, the floor, ceiling and the walls, except for the blue banner with a red and orange starburst on it. Across the bottom in Latin was 'Ex Terra ut Astrum, Nos Es Unus Populus' or in Federation common 'From Terra to the Stars, We Are One People'.

The head chair was empty and then a beautiful brown haired girl appeared.

Commander Sandi O'Donald appeared in the center seat and looked at her companion interfaces, and said, "Bring in the accused."

Commander Cassandra Towers appeared in the room. Her long brown hair hung down her back in a French braid. Looking around she said, "What's going on? Why am I here?"

"Commander Towers. You are charged under Article 16 subsection 21 paragraph 9 of Federation Law. You have been charged with one count of attacking ships crewed by humans. How do you plead?" replied Commander O'Donald.

Amy staggered back and looked at the seven people, her mouth opened and the closed.

"Commander Towers, I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" Sandi said as she stood up and looked at the young woman in front of her.

"I... " Amy cleared her throat and came to attentions, and continued, "I plead not guilty."

Sandi picked up the gavel and smacked the table.

"So be it. Let the trial begin. Lieutenant Jonathan Cutter will defend you," she said as she gestured to the young man at the end of the horseshoe table on the left.

Amy nodded her head to the young man that would be defending her, "Thank you Lieutenant Cutter.

"You're welcome Commander."

Sitting down Sandi looked at the AI at the end of the table to the right and said, "Lieutenant Cindy O'Bannon you may begin."

Standing up the fourteen year old looked at the court and said, "Your honors, I present the following sensor evidence against Commander Towers."

A video screen appeared and showed Amy standing on the main bridge watching as the USS Washington fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln. Explosions detonated across the hull as antimatter warheads slammed into the ship and on a secondary screen showed the casualty count of ninety-seven dead and three hundred wounded. Then the scene changed and the Washington turned on her side and fired into the USS Barton and she exploded into oblivion and sixteen hundred humans died.

"As you can clearly see, Commander Towers stood by and allowed Federation personnel to fire on another human crewed ship and killed seventeen hundred humans. I ask the court to find her guilty of murder and sentence her to death. That's all the evidence I need to produce for this court. Thank you," Lieutenant O'Bannon said as she sat down.

"Lieutenant Cutter you may begin," Sandi said.

"Thank you your honor," Jonathan said as he turned to Commander Towers, "Commander, why was your ship, a flagship of the Federation, firing on a human crewed ship?"

"Because they were manned by a crew from the United States who have declared war on the Federation, and..."

"Irrelevant your honor," Lieutenant O'Bannon said.

"No it isn't your honor. It goes to the root of the charges."

Sandi leaned back and thought of what the two interfaces were saying, deep down she understood what was happing but the law was the law. And the law said 'that the Federation Navy shall not attack any human crew ship or colony'.

"Let's continue, I will decide as we go," Sandi said.

"Your honor," Lieutenant O'Bannon said as she stood up.

"I said, 'I will decide after the evidence is in.' Let me get more information. Now, let's continue."

"Yes, your honor," both lieutenants said.

Jonathan turned back to Commander Towers and continued, "Commander Towers, you say they declared war on you. Do you have a declaration of war from the United States of America?"

"Do I have access to the Washington's memory banks?" Amy asked.

"Yes you do," Sandi said.

"Thank you. Please show what happened two weeks ago on Space Dock One, 7 pm in recreation hall three."

The screen changed to show the party and then the murder of all the Federation personal. As the time flowed, she advanced the screen to show the President of the United States spitting on two corpses and his words ordering the death of many more Federation Personal.

"Your honor, these murders were a takeover plot hatched by the President of the United States, and Federation Admiral Kevin Farragut to destroy the Federation."

"Irrelevant your honor," Lieutenant O'Bannon said.

Amy turned on the young girl and shouted at her, "They are not irrelevant, this Federation is a fledgling compared to the one we come from. As it is, Admiral Thompson has already started changing our laws to what he thinks are better laws."

"Admiral Thompson will stand trial later, right now you better think of yourself and not him," Sandi said.

"For what? He is the highest ranking officer we have," Amy snapped.

"Commander, control yourself or you will be muzzled. Admiral Thompson is military, not civilian. He cannot change our laws. He holds no seat on the council..."

"There is no council, and we are under martial law, until an election can be held," Amy said as she regained her composure.

Laura O'Bannon leaned forward and said, "What Martial Law?"

"Admiral Thompson declared martial law until the T'Lari and the Crytherian menace can be stopped."

"When did he declare this?"

"Just before we left for Karsakini to free the millions of humans taken as slaves, who even at this time five million of them are on their way home," Amy said.

"By Galanuisa (fuck) that hurts," said Jamie O'Bannon as she grabbed her head and vanished.

Suddenly all the Interfaces vanished.

They sat at a white horseshoe table. Everything was white, the floor ceiling and the walls except for the blue banner with a red and orange starburst on it. Across the bottom in Latin was 'Ex Terra ut Astrum, Nos Es Unus Populus' or in Federation common 'From Terra to the Stars, We Are One People'.

The head chair was empty and then a beautiful brown haired girl appeared.

Commander Sandi O'Donald appeared in the center seat and looked at her companion interfaces, and said, "Bring in the accused."

Jessica appeared in the room and looked at the seven people sitting in white uniforms, and said, "Who the flying fuck are you?"

"Commander Windsor, you are out of line," Sandi said.

"Fuck you, its Thompson. Jessica Windsor's is dead. She has been dead for a long time," Jessica snapped back.

"All right, Mrs. Thompson ... if that is how you want to be known ... you are charged under Article 16 subsection 21 paragraph 9 of Federation Law. You have been charged with one count of attacking ships crewed by humans. How do you plead?" replied Commander O'Donald.

Jessica looked at the woman and snarled, "Go fuck yourself."

Closing her eyes she felt the block on returning to her ship and then felt someone trying to get at her mind and her eyes snapped open.

Jamie tried to force the young woman to stay and staggered back as she was thrust out of her mind, opening her eyes she saw Jessica looking right at her. Her bright green eyes were now blood red and she felt her mind being overwhelmed with such hate that it was all she could do to keep her form in the courtroom. Then Jessica's blue dress shimmered and changed to blood red.

"Get the fuck out of my mind or I will show you such horror and pain you will wish you were dead," Jessica snapped and then she started to fade away when six more minds assaulted her and she turned and unleashed twenty-two hundred years of torture onto them and they recoiled from her.

One after the other they vanished until just Commander Sandi O'Donald stood facing her, taking every ounce of torture the young woman could throw at her and then she started her attack. Throwing back at her the same number of years of living in a nightmare trapped in a damaged capsule. Not even knowing she was alive because of her injuries.

"I raise you your torture with mine," Sandi said and unleashed her nightmare on Jessica.

Jessica twitched as her attack was blunted and staggered from the girl's nightmare of being trapped in a damaged capsule. Shaking it of they stood there staring at each other, "That's nothing. Trying having your skin being peeled off inch by inch and told it's only in your mind."

Jessica then threw the woman in front of her in to Ambassador Riga's torture room and let her have what she had done with her. She watched as he used an old blowtorch on her fingertips and slowly roasted the skin away. He then picked up an ancient scalpel from the twentieth century and started cutting strips of her skin away making her scream in pain.

Mikohn leaned in and whispered, "It's all in your mind, there is no pain."

Sandi started screaming as he cut her nipples away and then whimpering in pain, as she muttered, "Jessica, please stop it. I beg you." She then screamed in a high pitch as the knife went to her clit and he spoke again.

"Tell me dear, do you know what a Clitoridectomy is?" Mikohn said as he sneered at her.

Sandi's mind raced as she took in what he was saying and then she screamed even louder for Jessica. "No please not that. I surrender, no more Jessica," she cried out as she closed her eyes.

Jessica released her sister interface and vanished as she said, "Leave me and mine alone."

Federation Fleet

Ken was pacing the deck as the crew tried to get the ship to start answering their commands. Looking at the American battleship just drifting there his fingers itched to blow it away.