:: 16.10.2003 ::
Chapter Eleven
At about the same time, in a freakish coincidence of the universe, both attacks occurred.
The first attack took Terr'niet completely off-guard.
"Sir!" one of his officers panicked. "We've lost contact with Ion Frigates 112…325…294…they're dropping like flies, sir!"
Terr'niet acknowledged the comm. message and raced from his ready room to the bridge. Entering the room, he could spot the ensuing carnage on the viewscreen. As he watched in horror, another Ion Frigate in his massive formation was cut down by the furious yellow beams of the lightning-fast Bentusi Acolytes.
The taskforce his ship was with consisted of 127 various capital ships, the other six hundred-odd vessels patrolling the galaxy discreetly, searching for the turn-tail Turanic that had betrayed them and sold them out to the Council. Most of them were Ion Frigates, and had no possible way to counterattack the swarming fighters, and even his 50-year-old Missile Destroyers weren't up to the challenge of fending off the raging Bentusi.
One by one, the ships in his formation blinked off of the holographic display in the center of the room, and the Admiral frantically darted his eyes between the holodisplay and the viewscreen in desperation. His only hope was his starfighter wings, and even they may not be up to the challenge of defeating the Acolytes.
And suddenly, as soon as the attack had commenced, it ended. The thirty attacking Acolytes swiftly turned away from their Taiidan prey and retreated to the three Tradeships hanging in the distance.
How did we not detect them before, Terr'niet worried. These Unbound are too much like wraiths…we should not have angered them. And at that moment he found only one more reason why he desperately had to Unbind: only another wraith could destroy a wraith.
The deep Bentusi voice resonated through the hull of the Ruthless Punisher.
Taiidani vessels, you are charged with conspiracy against our race and attempting to illegally procure Unbound technology. The Council would not intervene on our behalf, even if they were able to locate your vessels. Fortunately for us, we were able to smoke you out through rather…unconventional techniques, and, thus, we are here to convict your fleet.
Though secretly dreading and expecting this moment ever since he'd first decided to carry out this campaign, Terr'niet could still not believe how the Bentusi had managed to find them. He also wondered what were the "unconventional techniques" they'd used. The movements of the Unbound, he surmised, were always a mystery.
Trying as hard as he could to get the terror out of his voice, he responded, "Noble Bentusi…I suppose I cannot deny my involvement with the incident, but as you can see, I haven't got the Tradeship. The Turanic mercenary Jai'mar stole it; he should be the one you are pursuing!"
No. We've been currently unable to locate the missing Tradeship, or its destination. And to assault Turan directly would place us at war with them, and we have not engaged in warfare in many millennia.
The voice took on more venomous tones. Regardless, you were the means to this end; you posted the bounty, and whether or not you have Bentusi technology you are still guilty in our eyes.
With that conclusion, the Acolytes goosed towards the Taiidani fleet like vultures out for the kill. Terr'niet barked, "Launch fighters, goddamnit!" But that was not enough to stop them, and he knew it. He stared out at the three command ships lying in space, as if mocking them. Terr'niet glared at the Tradeships, each time picturing the one that they should have received from Jai'mar, picturing the plan he'd dreamily envisioned come to pieces before his eyes…
Then it hit him.
They were in battle already; why not risk it? He pulled out his comm. and spoke softly into the transmitter. "Scythe Squadron, do you copy?"
The voice that came through was filled with fear and jumpiness. "Sir, make it quick, sir! I can't concentrate on your speaking as well as fly my-"
And then a burst of static.
Terr'niet changed to the fleet-wide band and ordered, "Anyone with EMP weaponry is charged with disabling one of those Acolytes and bringing them aboard one of the Carriers! The Bentusi will know what we're doing, so stop them from destroying their wounded!"
That's it, he thought. By disabling one of the Acolytes, he accomplished his task. He didn't need a whole Tradeship of Unbound pods; he only needed one. And whatever it took, he would get that one.
Then he focused on other matters. "All capital ships, go to Wall formation and close in on the Bentusi Tradeships." Every face in the room turned to him questioningly. Their leader only said, "They are intimidating, but they don't last long in a firefight, especially with our numbers. Move in!"
Organically, the surviving capital ships moved in towards the Tradeships. The three Bentusi vessels merely laid there, as if inviting their oblivion. When they got within range, all ships opened fire on the center Tradeship, while nine yellow rakes of destruction fired back at them. Three Ion Frigates had been destroyed, but it didn't matter. Regardless of their engineering, Bentusi ships were not built specifically for warfare; their curving hulls were more aesthetic (and apparently added wonders to their "song of hyperspace") than defensive.
The first ship fell, and the other two collapsed in on their formation. The ships closest to them opened fire, but they did not counter-attack. They merely shoved through the vacuum of space towards the Taiidan vessels, ever approaching their attackers…
And with horror, Terr'niet realized their plan.
"This ship is far too slow to get us out of here; detach us from the main section and boost away from the fleet as fast as you can!"
The officers all turned to him again. One adventurous officer asked, "Sir?"
"Those ships are about to commit suicide, I've seen it before!" Terr'niet explained. "Just do as I say now!"
A sharp rocking tipped them all off their feet, and on the viewscreen Terr'niet could see the detached four-fifths of the ship left behind. As per Imperial orders during the Beast Wars, all Heavy Cruiser-class vessels were equipped with emergency detach parameters that allowed the bridge and forward cabins to boost away from the doomed hulk of a ship. Considerably less mass meant the detached lifeboat could move far faster than the sluggish engines of a Heavy Cruiser would normally allow, saving the captain and senior staff from destruction. That they were sacrificing a hundred lives in the process meant nothing to the desperate Admiral.
Then they felt the explosion as the two Tradeships ripped apart the taskforce. Massive shockwaves buffeted the lifeboat as large pieces of flaming debris shot past them. As the shockwave dissipated, Terr'niet retrieved his bearings and said, "Come about! How many survived?"
The picture in the viewscreen changed as the lifeboat swiveled around to survey the wreckage. At what once was the center of the Taiidani formation glowed an expanding core of flaming, radioactive debris. Only a few semi-recognizable shells remained, and of those few…
"We count four surviving vessels, sir," an awed officer reported. "One Ion Frigate and three Assault Frigates."
"And the Acolytes?" he warily prodded.
"Only four remaining, sir. One of them is disabled, however, and is being towed towards the Carrier Homestead."
He thanked God that he'd left his three Carriers behind, away from the chaotic explosion. "Onscreen."
The viewscreen projected a scene of one Salvage Corvette towing the damaged Acolyte to the Carrier's hangar. As it safely slipped into the ship's bowels, Terr'niet grinned with renewed glee. Sure, he'd lost thousands of men today, but he had many thousands more, and with this Bentusi technology he could conquer the galaxy.
This elation lasted only as long as it took for the remaining three Acolytes to smash into the side of the Carrier, guns blazing. When the brilliant explosion dissipated, Terr'niet admitted a tear to run down his cheek. So close was he to victory…and yet he could only barely grasp his prize before it was snatched away from him.
He gritted his teeth so hard that a trickle of blood escaped his lips. He brushed it away as he ordered, "Send out an emergency signal to every ship in the fleet. Tell them to cease whatever they are doing and to meet up with us at waypoint 'Last Stand.' We're going to war."
The second attack involved far fewer ships, fewer lives, but it was no less climactic.
The Director sweated out the response he was about to speak, and realized that Unbound never took such a long time to formulate an answer, so he clumsily said, "We need prove nothing to you, Hiigaran. Do not attempt to pass, or we will exercise force."
"No," Krenneg Naabal responded. "If Karos means that much to you, prove it. We've destroyed the Beast and the Taiidani Emperor; an Unbound race wouldn't be too much of a problem for us."
"Admiral, what are you doing?" came the shocked voice of Damar over the Blitz's comm. "They'll destroy us for sure!"
Krenneg smiled, as he knew Damar and everyone in his fleet were most likely ready to mutiny and lynch him over such a preposterous gambit. "Relax, Colonel," he said. "You and I both know how dangerous this mission is, and if calling their bluff is a way of surviving until someone else tries to kill us, then the situation isn't as bad as it sounds." He frowned. "Besides," he added, "Something about this doesn't add up, even for this 'Project Karan' business."
The T-Mat responded brusquely, You endanger your whole race over some farcical private matter? You are far less noble than we once believed. After a pause came the muted continuation, A fine Naabal you turned out to be.
The Director froze, a cold sweat beginning to seep through him as he realized with horror at what he'd done. That personal comment had been uttered before he'd switched off the comm. channel…
"What did he say?" Krenneg asked, wide-eyed.
"You heard him," Damar said. "Isn't it interesting that this T-Mat is so personal about your kiith?"
That sealed it. Krenneg leaned closer to the viewscreen, as if it would help him scan the massive vessel better. In amusement and confusion, he shook his head. "Son of a bitch…"
He turned to the tactics officer, a synthetic. "1Y-E, fire one shot from our fore energy cannons at the port Megaship."
The robot, having not picked up on the T-Mat's slip of the tongue, protested, "But Admiral, the one ship alone could easily defend itself from any attacks we launch. It would only instigate an unnecess-"
"Do it anyway," Krenneg persisted. "Aim at one of the outermost tips of the ship, like its belly."
The robot hesitated, but complied as it was programmed. A fluctuating shot of blue and green fired from the Carrier's turrets, whistling towards the bottommost section of the T-Mat ship. But instead of impacting on the surface, brewing up a flaring explosion, it passed right through the hull, emerging on the other side unexploded.
A grin slowly grew on Krenneg's face. He re-activated his comm. and spoke to the "Megaship." "Your cover is blown. Now who the hell are you, and why are you trying to shake us off our course?"
A familiar voice played over the comm. as the holographic charade faded away. "My, my, Admiral, you really shouldn't have persisted in this foolish game. Both you and the Paktu Colonel have condemned yourselves, and I'm afraid Intelligence cannot have renegade officers sabotaging classified missions."
In the place of the Megaships lay two small Frigates, both steel-gray and black with the color scheme of the Intel "Invisible Corps." The ships were new to Krenneg, who'd never seen anything like them. Obviously they were classified ships, because the sensors could not properly tag them either.
"Sir," the sensors officer said. "I'm picking up no discernable weapons on the hull, but it seems like the outer shell consists of a super-conductive metal charged with millions of kilojoules of electricity."
Such a design was very unorthodox, but it did ring a bell with the Admiral. He'd remembered a conference many years back when the Navy was considering a ship that could fire off massive pulses of electromagnetic energy at any assailant, disabling it or worse. Ashe remembered, though, the concept was horribly flawed as the prototypes always blew out their power cores upon charging of the hull.
Or so it was reported…
No matter what the situation was concerning the ship designs, however, it did nothing to change the fact that there were only two of them against twelve warships and a Carrier full of Fighters.
Krenneg grunted his approval of the situation. He turned again to the android tactics officer and said, "Direct all ships to fire on those Frigates."
"But they bear Hiigaran engine harmonics, sir."
"Do it!"
All ships opened fire on the small vessels. Krenneg saw all matter of weapons-plasma shots, Ion Beams, plasma bombs, and even Flak shards from Damar's Dominance-assault the Intel Frigates.
But all efforts were discouraged by a searing wall of red light lying in front of the two ships. Krenneg seethed, "What the fuck is going on here? Magnify!"
The red wall dissipated, but Krenneg could spot the obvious source: as he watched, the tiny Robo-Sentinels flew back to their parent vessels, assuming a protective sphere around each of them.
Krenneg was still recovering from the shock when he heard the Director's triumphant words, "Now it's our turn." And a blast of lightning from one of the ships fried the Blitz's electrical systems, tossing him to the floor in a spew of sparks and smoke.
The Director took the controls of his Frigate and began maneuvering it towards the fleet, flying in long, elegant swoops that circled the Navy vessels arrogantly. He felt pretty stupid for being caught in the act, but fortunately there was an alternative to deterrence.
Termination.
The ship's electromagnetic generators charged up another shot, which he fired off at one of the smaller ships in the formation. Electricity danced upon the hull of the Assault Frigate, flash-frying its power circuits and leaving it impotent and vulnerable to attack.
These Cloak Frigates were the perfect weapon, the Director mused. With no set turrets, the ship could fire electricity bolts across space from any point on its hull in any direction, giving it a 100% coverage rate.
One by one the ships in the formation were disabled, the fighters in the Carrier even simpler a prey. All shots directed towards it, on the other hand, were deflected by the most brilliant Robo-Sentinels, and while a few were knocked off by lucky shots, the gaps in the shields were small enough not to be a problem, especially the way the Director was turning the ship around all the time, in constant and semi-random motion.
Once all the ships were destroyed, he formed up with the other Cloak Frigate and faced the Blitz. The Director smiled, "It is a pity you were so insistent, Admiral." And both fired off super-charged shots at the Carrier with enough electrical force to breach the heavily insulated core of the ship. The blackened hull exploded violently into millions of charred, jagged pieces of hull.
Such a shame that good men rebel, the Director thought. As he gloated over his victory, he decided that he would let the rest of the fleet alive. His mercy would be appreciated with their silence, and if it wasn't…accidents happened so often on military vessels that a few were disregarded.
But he was not about to spare all the ships. No, one ship remained, the root of the problem. As the two bolts of electricity stabbed into the heart of the Dominance, the Director felt relieved that he'd taken care of all trouble matters, Project Tasiin and the secret of Project Karan were safe from everything until the former reached fruition.
There was, however, one tiny aberration that he'd not picked up, something that could potentially put an end to all his plans. But then, few people would have a contingency plan for two modified Cloak Fighters traveling on illegal hyperspace engines, traveling at blazing speeds towards Karos and the Abyss…
