Shortly after the encounter, the invasion of Sector Twenty-two began. The Federation issued a formal declaration of war. A quarter of the remaining Federation war fleet invaded the sector in an overwhelming first strike. In the Alpha Centauri System, thousands of ships were on the battlefield. The federation had given up its claims to this sector four hundred years ago, so this invasion was illegal.
The Engagement was pure chaos. Admiral Nelson could guess what was happening as he watched starfighters flying by and performing death-defying stunts like looping the loops and corkscrews, trying to keep from getting shot down. Dozens of capital ships exchange broadsides with torpedoes and plasma bolts flying in all directions.
Thousands of picket ships, escort ships, and frigates passed each other, shooting disrupter blasts. The ships were intermingled, and there were no clear lines.
The fighters were scattered, and Bomber groups dropped torpedoes in all directions. The bombers were in chaotic bombing patterns, and it was hard to tell who was bombing who. The Confederate Navy starships had a unique cigar-shaped design with the engines in the back, while Federation ships had a triangular design. It was still tough to tell who was under attack.
The Admiral stood out of the window with his paws behind his back. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the locket his wife made for his birthday. He opened it, and inside was a hologram of his son and daughter. His wife was caught at a conference for metalsmiths at Hoth Prime. His son was joining the navy today and his daughter was a first officer on one of the frigates. While the battle raged, he thought about his son, who was in one of the Titan-Class battleships being bombarded.
Nelson looked out over the window as two Shannon class cruisers strafed an enemy ship of the line. The debris flew in all directions and the enemy ship stalled. It went dark and then floated in space. He thought of his daughter. She was on a frigate engaged with a bomber squadron. The bombers flew in formation dropping bright blue plasma on the ship and disabling the ships.
As he thought of his family, He could guess that he was winning the battle with ten percent certainty and that the battle was a draw with twenty-two percent certainty.
He turned and noticed Captain Plato had his paws in his pockets. Captain Plato didn’t have a family, so he wouldn’t be looking at family photos. Usually, a bridge officer puts paws or hands in their pockets to hide tremors in their hands. His fur coat looked dull, and he had a lot less energy than he did two hours ago.
Admiral Nelson snapped, “Captain. Why do you have your paws in your pocket?”
Captain Plato looked at Admiral Nelson. “Sir?”
“Pull out your paws. That is an order.”
Captain Plato pulled out his paws, and they shook. “I see your paws are shaking. When was your last drink?”
“Four hours ago? Not sure.”
Admiral Nelson sighed. “Today of all days when my family is in this battle.” Admiral Nelson snorted. “I am invoking order fifty-eight. Let the ship’s record show that order fifty-eight was issued at star date a hundred years after the Treaty of Tomag at the third quarter bell of the midnight watch. Commander, you have the bridge. Captain, we will deal with this after the battle.” He waved his hand dismissively.
Captain Plato saluted and left the bridge.
The sensor officer spoke, “Admiral, four Titan-Class battleships just warped into range. They are under attack from picket ships and enemy frigates. The battleships are maintaining their shields for the moment, but their shield generators are about to overheat.”
The admiral sighed. “Dispatch the predator drones. Load them with Pulse torpedoes and blast-wave missiles. After dealing with the fighters, tell the four battleships to launch a barrage of tricobalt torpedoes at the ships on the left flank. We need to begin breaking up this clusterfuck. Tell the ships on the right flank to tighten up and form a line. I think we are winning, but I can’t be 100% sure until we organize our lines.”
One after the other, one hundred predator drones launched from the command ship in quick succession.
The drones were in the shape of a triangle with two photon blaster cannons on the tips of the wings and a repeater blaster in the center. In addition, There were two thrusters in the back. Also, the drones had a five-million-watt shield and eight-inch-thick durasteel armor.
The carriers were attacked. The drones quickly forced the Fighters to disperse and took out four hundred enemy fighters in a quick series of dogfights by coming behind them with overwhelming speed and blasting the pilots out of space with the repeater blaster. The destroyed fighter craft exploded in a shower of white-hot sparks and debris. The drones moved so fast that they were nearly impossible to see.
Admiral Nelson watched the entire battle from the drone squad leader’s camera.
Admiral Nelson spoke into his triquarter, “Drone six-two-five-two, I want you to attack the two federation carrier engines. Launch the pulse torpedoes at the thrusters.”
“Sir, might I suggest we clean up the enemy spacecraft first?” said Drone six-two-five-two in a monotone computerized voice.
Admiral Nelson had to admit it was hard to argue with logic. “Sure. Be quick about it. The sooner we take out those carriers, the better.” Admiral Nelson hoped taking the carriers would force the enemy off of the battlefield.
“Yes, sir.”
The predator squad began taking out fighters and bombers. The Confederate Navy formation tightened over the next four hours, and the Feds became more disorganized. The enemy began fleeing. The two carriers were attacked in the span of minutes. The engines exploded in a shower of debris and white-hot sparks. The Federation lines began to fold not long afterwards. It didn’t happen immediately, but over the next two and a half hours, the Federation ships began warping off the battlefield after picking up escape pods from destroyed starships. The enemy retreated with severe losses
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Brinus and Simmie were in the starship’s hallway outside the robotics lab. Rather than the red light flashing now, it was a yellow light. They were smoking cigarettes with each other at the smoking barrel outside of Brinus’s workstation. Brinus had his foot against the wall and leaned back into it, and Simmie leaned on the wall with his feet on the ground. The hallway was quiet. It was the calm after the battle. The lieutenant walked up to Brinus. Brinus and Simmie saluted the lieutenant. The lieutenant nodded.
“Stinkball! The commander is going to begin salvage operations in about 30 minutes. Finish your smokes and then get to the hanger.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
After smoking, he went to the vending machine and put eight one-credit chips into it. He then bought two packs of twenty-milligram Otis Datis Vanilla Coffee Reapers. After his purchase, he put the two packs in his pocket. After that, he assembled the tools in a handbag.
He walked over to the flight deck, launchpad 10. The salvage teams were assembled.
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He walked to the young man and saluted him. “My name is Brinus Helios. ya got need fer a salvage expert?”
The young man was a Petty Officer 1st class and a squad leader. He looked at Brinus. “You’re the ex-con everyone is talking about?”
Brinus was unsure how to respond and just looked at the petty officer.
“Welcome to my crew, Stinkball. My squad will be here shortly. Are you certified as an Engineer? Do you have any EOD experience?”
“I got formal credentials last week in basic trainin’?”
The petty officer smiled. “Good. You’re my new EOD specialist for the squad.”
“Yes, sir.”
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Twenty minutes later, four large shuttles landed in the flight bay of the enemy carrier’s landing strip. It had several large holes in the flight deck and half-destroyed fighters and fighter-bombers in rows. There were burnt corpses everywhere and a putrid smell of smoke in the atmosphere. The atmosphere reeked of death and burning plastic.
“Alright, Maggots! Gather up! Is everyone here?”
The men, women, and catpeople nodded.
“Cadet Stinkball! It says in your service record you were an engineer and a metallurgist with an EOD disposal certificate! Petty Officer Samol! I want you to take your group and defuse the proton torpedoes, plasma missiles, and concussion missiles in the arsenal. Everyone else! y’all know your assignments. We probably have about one hour before the life support cuts out and another one and a half hours of breathable air afterward. Everyone knows what to do?”
“Sir, Yes, sir!” said everyone in unison.
“Dismissed!”
He found his squad leader and then walked over to his squad. An atmosphere began to form between Brinus and two of the crewmen.
Brinus’s squad leader looked at Brinus. “Youvon. Your Battle buddy is Brinus. Find the Torpedo Workshop and get me some missiles!”
Youvon groaned but took working with Brinus in stride as they left the flight deck.
Brinus and his battle buddy entered the torpedo workshop. Hundreds of torpedoes and tens of dozens of missiles were piled on storage racks.
Popping percussion caps off the concussion missiles Brinus put them into vacuum-sealed baggies. Youvon was removing the radiological fuses from the proton torpedoes. Popping off percussion caps looked easy, but It was easy to detonate a torpedo accidentally. His heart pounded in his ears, and he was hyper focused on his job.
He heard footsteps from outside of the torpedo workshop after fifteen minutes. Youvon listened to music on ear pods and was oblivious. Brinus knew someone was about to ambush them, so he took his blaster pistol off the safety and positioned his back to the wall facing the door. His battle buddy didn’t notice the change in energy.
He heard whispers and saw someone throw a plasma grenade into the torpedo room. rising from sitting, he ran as fast as possible and slid into the grenade. The grenade never exploded as he kicked it back at the enemies. Brinus was convinced it took longer than four seconds to run to it.
On the other side of the door was a loud explosion and about a dozen screams. The other partner pulled out their Blaster. Both of them hid behind the workbench. Four enemies came into the room. Brinus double-tapped two of the enemies in the chest, and the other crewmate popped the third enemy in between the eyes. The fourth person threw his gun down and threw his arms into the air.
“I surrender!”
Brinus noticed a gold star-fighter pin on his stand-up collar and four gold rings on his uniform’s sleeves.
“Brinus! Secure the prisoner and watch the door!”
Over the next 20 minutes, Brinus had his back to the wall with the prisoner next to him as he stood guard at the door. He was getting progressively more antsy and fidgety. He pulled out a cigarette and said, “I am going into the bathroom to interrogate the prisoner. I’ll be back.”
Youvon said, “Sure, be back before I leave cuz I won’t wait for you.”
He went into the bathroom and lit it. He took a deep drag and exhaled slowly, enjoying the taste of the flavors and sensation of smoke in his throat. The prisoner was handcuffed across from him in the torpedo room’s men’s restroom.
The prisoner just looked at him. They went into the bathroom, which was destroyed except for the toilet and metal sink. The water in the toilet was black from the ash. The bathroom had flickering lights and smelled like ash and urine.
The commander laughed to himself while staring at Brinus.
“What?”
He scoffed, “You were a pirate?”
Brinus smiled. “Not quite, I was in the Orin Syndicate and got busted fer a licensed hired burglary cuz I purposely botched it so I could get arrested.”
The man laughed.
“What?”
The commander scoffed with contempt in his voice. “In the Federation Navy, we don’t let smokers or addicts join the military or allow people with felonies or certain misdemeanors in, yet somehow, with every advantage, you guys still handed us an ass whooping.”
Brinus took a drag and blew the smoke into the officer’s face. He was hoping to provoke a response. “Maybe that’s why ya’ lost? Your arrogance.”
The handcuffed officer rolled his eyes and said in a disgusted tone. “You guys are so smug, aren’t you? You have no idea the power of the Federation Navy.”
Brinus smiled and laughed, showing his teeth in his classic screw-you smile. “I don’t know about either navies. I’ve only been ’n the Confederate Navy fer two weeks. Tell me. Who won this here battle again? Was it your side side? No? Didn’t think so.” He blew another cloud of smoke into the commander’s face, trying to provoke the prisoner into a response.
The commander coughed angrily, “I think I told you enough. When will you be finished?”
“In about 10 minutes. I need a couple of cigarettes.” Brinus smiled and jumped onto the toilet and smiled, doing an Asian Squat. The cigarette dangled from his mouth as he took a drag and blew even more smoke into the commander’s face. “I figure we can spend a little time together gettin’ to know each other, commander.”
“What? How....”
Brinus laughed in a mocking tone. “I know you’re a lieutenant commander in the Federation Navy cuz uh the markin’s on ’you’re sleeves. I also know ’you’re the carrier’s flight officer cuz of the emblem on your collar. The others don’t know cuz they ain’t got much combat experience.” He folded his arms and laughed manically.
The commander had no idea what to say.
“So what’s life like in the Federation right now? I heard it’s tough.”
“My name is Colberet Al Jex. My service number is two-five-six-eight-three-zero. I am a Lieutenant Commander in the Federation Navy.”
Brinus became Envious and smoked in silence. He continued to do an Asian squat over the toilet because of its condition. It looked like a roadside fuel station bathroom, which was cleaned once a week but had just gone through a war. Brinus sighed in frustration at his failed interrogation.
“You’re lucky I ain’t a criminal no more.”
The commander scoffed and looked off to the side. “Criminals don’t belong in the service.”
After returning to the torpedo room, two men stood with their backs to the wall, facing the door and looking alert. One of the men looked at Brinus. They were loading the explosives onto a cart.
“What took so long?”
“Y’all don’t notice nuthin’ about this here, poisoner? I was tryin’ to interrogate him.”
The petty officer rolled his eyes. “We are about to leave. The CO2 levels are getting high. Leave the prisoner.”
Brinus shrugged. “No. This here prisoner will tickle the admiral’s tool.”
The petty officer rolled his eyes and snarled. “Whatever, just help us load these torpedoes and missiles. If you think the admiral will be interested in this prisoner, it is good enough for me.”
Leaving the ship, he helped the men load the torpedoes, missiles, percussion caps, and fuse types on four carts and then activated the transporter on the control panel using Federation codes.
The commander and the other two looked surprised; he said, “How did you know the transporter codes?”
Brinus laughed again and then said in a mocking tone, “Wouldn’t you like to know, commander?” Brinus smiled at the commander, showing his slightly stained teeth in the most infuriating smile possible. He then looked at the other two men with a more severe expression. “I sent the weapons an’ fuses to the hangar bay where the shuttle-craft are. We gotta get outta here. Carbon monoxide levels are near dangerous levels. Ten minutes, and we’ll start having symptoms, and carbon dioxide levels are at 700 ppm.”
The men made their way to the hangar with the prisoner. Everyone was gathered around two shuttle-crafts. Half of the salvaging teams were lost in ambushes. The commanding officer was lost; therefore, one of the two acting lieutenants addressed Brinus. Other groups took dozens of prisoners.
The lieutenant went up to Brinus. “Who is the prisoner?”
He puffed out his chest and smiled. “Lieutenant Commander Colbert Al Jex; he’s the carrier’s flight officer.”
The acting lieutenant looked at Brinus and saw the four gold rings on his sleeve and the gold starfighter on his stand-up collar.
The lieutenant smiled. “The admiral will be interested in him. Take him on the shuttlecraft. Nice work, Brinus.”
“Just doin’ my job.”
Brinus put the Lieutenant Commander onto the shuttlecraft. Two marines forced him into a seat and put restraints on him.
After loading up the weapons, replicator parts, computer equipment, bridge data, and wounded from the various ambushes, the able-bodied went into the shuttles.
As soon as Brinus came off the shuttle, he noticed a headache and felt dizzy; he felt more tired than usual after a battle and salvage and was covered in sweat and dirt. He also felt grimy from being in action for almost 15 hours. However, the Admiral and two marines were waiting for him.
“Come with me; I need to talk to you.”
Brinus saluted the admiral and then followed him to the ready room.
They sat at their chairs, and Brinus took a glass of whisky and poured himself a triple shot. He then put two ice cubes in it. He did all of this without asking. Admiral Nelson sighed. “You didn’t ask Cadet or were offered. What I have to say is about your family. You aren’t who you think you are.”