Chapter 38. A good day gone bad.
“CJ, I need you to lay down cover fire on that guard tower…NOW!” Matty shouted orders as the team converged on the Lacertine outpost near the small central Louisiana town of Pineville. The team had been training non-stop for the last few weeks. Tactics and teamwork were improving, so Tiff decided it was time for a live-fire test of their ability as a squad.
The Lacertine forces had grown increasingly aggressive over the last several weeks, and it was time for them to be put in check. The Lacertines had been effectively cut off from transport and supply vessels as their home world had been nearly bankrupted as it tried to mount an effort to gain a seat on the Universal Council by force. After months of fighting, the Lacertine Empire was relegated to withdrawing into their home system and going on the defensive. This meant that any active remote presence by their military throughout the universe had been cut off.
On the surface, this seemed like good news. The Lacertines had no supplies and no ability to exfil from the planet. The only remaining Lacertine ships in orbit had been destroyed by the Bloodhound and the Burning Retribution, the ship belonging to Princess Danae. The problem now was the troops left on the ground.
Natasha had managed to do some light hacking and got an estimate of troops on the ground. Over 250,000 Lacertine troops had been sent to Earth to ensure the quick subjugation and transportation of what they so kindly dubbed “livestock.” Once the Livestock had been mostly removed, the planet would be stripped of natural resources and terraformed into a world that could sustain the Lacertine biology. In terms of terraforming, it was light work; basically, the soil would need to be treated so it could grow and maintain crops the Lacertines could consume. The orbs had already raised the global temperature and created some areas with the types of hot, humid climates the Lacertines loved.
The issue now is that the forces on the planet had been effectively abandoned. The ones that remained were on their own. Hunger was the most pressing concern for the troops remaining. They couldn’t eat anything that lived or grew naturally on the planet. There had been some preliminary attempts at growing food compatible with Lacertine physiology. However, those attempts were still in their infancy and hadn’t created a meaningful yield to this point. The Lacertine mad scientists had developed a serum capable of altering the human body's genetic and physical makeup, thereby effectively creating something edible for the lizards in the meantime.
There was an internment camp a few miles from Dawes Hill. A squad of Wasps had managed to scout the location a few days ago and reported that it was fully staffed. The rumors of revolt and mutiny had been exaggerated, at least in this case. The Wasps reported regular patrols and a contingent of nearly 1,000 troops. Several acres of experimental crops were also being grown. This area was under heavy guard, seemingly to protect it from their own people due to the food shortage. Most importantly, a serum production facility was on the southeast side of the outpost. This was to be the target of Tiff and the crew of the Bloodhound.
The plan was simple: Hit them hard and fast and ultimately eliminate their ability to produce more of the serum. The problem was orbital support. Natasha and Danae had been operating under stealth conditions for several weeks. When the Rerek squad appeared after the Lacertine ships' destruction, Natasha called for the Bloodhound and her own ships to jump away. She left several stealth sensors in low orbit to allow her to continue working on breaching the Lacertine network and maintain communication channels with Tiff and the crew.
Danae had called in two battle cruisers to help with the Rerek Squad. Still, the rebellion didn’t have unlimited resources and couldn’t afford to jump in more ships for a planet that held no actual value in the fight against the Universal Council. The plan was simple: get the Bloodhound into position to provide orbital support. The two Battle cruisers would jump in, open fire, and jump away, leaving just enough radiation in their wake for the Rerek squad to pursue. The window would be less than 10 minutes before all hell broke loose in orbit. Hopefully, that would be enough.
Tiff Looked up to see two radiant flashes in the sky as Danae’s ships jumped in. The Rerek ships were hanging in low orbit and were barely visible to the naked eye. The Rerek squad consisted of two battle cruisers, two frigates, and one destroyer. The battle cruisers were fast, and the weapons complement on that class of ship was unmatched. The frigate class was fast while also carrying a respectable complement of weapons. The destroyer class ship was a monster. These ships were generally deployed in large-scale interstellar battles to maintain control of a specific planet or other celestial body. Some destroyers had the ability to destroy entire planets, and since the squad overhead was a Rerek Squad, Tiff did not doubt that the planet could be destroyed in a matter of seconds. She would have to Trust Natasha to do her job.
Natasha planned everything. Princess Danae had seen the Bloodhound in battle, knew the capabilities of the Elvis AI, and had learned to expect no less from Natasha. The plan was daring, if reckless, but it was the only way Danae could see to remove the Rerek threat, so she agreed to do her part.
On the surface, things were getting kinetic for Tiff and the rest of the crew. The assault on the Lacertine outpost was proving more difficult than initially expected. The outpost was established on a small U.S. military base, Camp Beauregard. The Lacertines took full advantage of the existing infrastructure to create a small but thoroughly defensible stronghold.
“Matty, is Jax in position?” Tiff asked over comms.
“Approaching now, he will not be able to breach the walls unless we thin out the Lacertines from orbit. Any word on the Bloodhound?” Matty asked as he ran for cover, avoiding plasma rounds that hit the ground around him, spewing dirt, rock, and hot plasma into the air.
“Nothing yet; we have to do our part and trust Natasha to do hers,” Tiff replied.
“Are we a go for Hulk Smash?” Red asked.
“Did we seriously agree on that name for this tactic?” Jax asked.
“Elvis is the centerpiece, so he has to name it,” Matty replied. We need to wait for Natasha before we can move on to the Hulk smash. For now, everyone gets into position. Once there, return fire as needed and keep those enemy troops busy. I need individual confirmation once everyone is securely in position, copy?”
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“In position, waiting on fireworks,” Jax said.
“Loren and I are near the garden, holding position,” Red said.
“Coming in hot gonna drop ordinance then turn and burn to the evac point,” Tiff said.
A low rumble sounded overhead as the Pup blasted through the air above the base. The Lacertine troops all turned and directed fire at it to no avail. The drop ship was moving too fast, and the plasma rounds shot up into the air harmlessly in its wake. The rear loading door was open, and a pallet-sized object fell out toward the center of the outpost.
“Ordinance away headed to the rally point,” Tiff said as the Pup banked left and flew toward the rendezvous point.
The Lacertine troops didn’t have time to react as the package landed and Plasma exploded in all directions. The buildings and fences shook as the shockwave reached them, creating chaos within the outpost.
“Good Job, XO. Package delivered with efficiency. Time for Natasha to do her part,” Matty said.
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“Captain, we are reading an unregistered warp emergence approximately two light seconds from the planet's moon,” the Rerek first officer reported as she tapped the console on her chair.
“Perform an active sensor sweep,” the Captain of the Rerek destroyer Crimson Spear replied.
The Crimson Spear activated its long-range sensor array to see a small battered Lacertine drop ship moving toward the Rerek squad. A few seconds later, it was followed by two larger and much more dangerous Havokium battle cruisers.
All Rereks considered themselves to be superior to other races in the universe, answering only to the Universal Council. Captain Omar had been assigned this mission because he had drunkenly insulted a high-ranking home-world politician's son during his last shore leave. It wasn’t enough to have a destroyer captain discharged from duty, but it was enough to ensure he never saw meaningful combat again. He assumed this mission would be filled with the tediousness expected of a guard squadron. The Rerek fleet would soon arrive and relieve him of his tedium so he could return to his home system and spend the remainder of his career doing inner system patrol runs or other meaningless tasks. The appearance of a lone Lacertine drop ship that was seemingly fleeing two Havokium battle cruisers was intriguing, and for the first time this mission, Captain Omar felt the excitement that came with the possibility of glorious battle.
“Move our battle cruisers to intercept. Order the frigates to defensive positions around the Spear,” Captain Omar barked as the bridge came to life.
“Aye, Captain. Battle cruisers moving to intercept. Frigates will take a position one-quarter light second from the Spear on the port and starboard sides,” the first officer confirmed.
“I want those battle cruisers destroyed!” Omar shouted as he slammed his fist into the console of his chair. Nothing could be done about his shameful position in the military, but destroying two Havokium battle cruisers was a good start. The rebellion had been active over the last few years but always managed to stay one step ahead of the Universal Council. Omar would use this victory to claw his way back to good standing and allow nothing to stand in his way.
The Rerek cruisers moved to intercept the Havokium ships. As they closed the Havokium ships fired rail guns and missiles before turning and burning away from the Rerek ships.
“Do not let them escape!” Omar shouted, pounding his fist once again.
The Havokium ships quickly jumped away before the Rerek cruisers could return fire. They had taken no damage, so they used the gamma wake of the Havokium wormholes to continue their pursuit. Once the cruisers jumped away, Captain Omar ordered a sensor sweep of the Lacertine drop ship. The ship seemed to be completely powered down, and the sensor sweep confirmed that the ship was cold, not even having active life support systems.
“Bring the spear around and prepare to intercept that drop ship. If it was valuable enough for two Havokium ships to risk a blind jump pursuit, then it must be retrieved,” Omar said.
“Aye, Captain. Adjusting course and speed to intercept the drop ship now. ETA six minutes,” the pilot responded from his station.
“Captain, I feel I must inform you that this could be some sort of trap. We know that the rebels have been active in this system and can assume they were responsible for the destruction of the Lacertine squad,” The first officer said from her chair to the right of Captain Omar.
“Your trepidation will be the bottleneck of your career, XO. One must seize opportunities as they come and cannot let fear overcome the chance at glory!” Omar put one finger in the air to emphasize his sage words of wisdom. After all, what kind of captain didn’t take advantage of an opportunity to mentor his crew?
The Spear aligned course and speed to that of the dead drop ship as it spun 180 degrees to align its rear loading bay with the drop ship. Two magnetic micro-tethers were released and guided to the drop ship’s hull, attaching the drop ship and starting the towing and retrieval process.
“XO, you have the bridge. I will be heading to Cargo Bay 1 to inspect our prize. Ensure that shields are restored immediately after the drop ship is loaded, understood?” Omar said before entering the grav lift and leaving the bridge.
“Understood, Captain,” the XO confirmed before taking the captain’s chair.
Captain Omar’s day was turning in his favor. One mystery drop ship and the possibility of destroying two rebel cruisers. If the drop ship held anything remotely valuable, it might be enough for him to regain his position within the active fleet. If he were to report the destruction of two rebel cruisers as well… well, that might just mean a promotion. Yes, this was turning out to be a good day after all.
Omar approached the cold, dead dropship with two security officers flanking him. The ship had been scanned for life signs and showed none; there was no need for this extra security, he thought to himself. Two ship techs were wielding tools as sparks fell to the ground around the rear hatch of the drop ship. Omar shifted his feet nervously. He could feel that this ship held some secret, some treasure, and he was ready to discover exactly what that secret was.
The rear door of the drop ship crashed to the deck with a metallic clang. Omar waved his hands to clear the acrid welding smoke from his eyes before stepping into the drop ship. Omar felt his heart drop as he peered into the ship to see nothing.
“Damn the Lacertines! Nothing of value in this ship,” Omar grumbled. Oh well, there was still the possibility of destroying two Havokium cruisers, the day could be salvaged.
As Omar turned to leave, he heard a small rattling sound from the ship's cockpit. He turned to see a small maintenance bot roll out into the center aisle. In response, Omar raised a curious eyebrow.
“One worthless maintenance bot?” Omar grumbled. The bot skittered closer as a hatch on its top opened. A tiny fist slowly began to rise from the top of the maintenance bot. Omar, now curious, stopped to watch the bot as his two security guards tensed and placed their fingers on the triggers of their plasma rifles.
“Oh, calm yourselves, men. If there were any lethal threats, the scans would have caught them. Let's see what this little bot has for us.” Omar said, waving his hand to let the men know to lower their weapons.
The bot spun in circles as a merry tune played from its speakers. It rolled closer to Omar before stopping a few feet away.
“What a ridiculous little bot. Have someone take this thing to the incinerator and eject this drop ship,” Omar said as he turned away.
The bot whistled loudly, getting Omar’s attention once again. Omar turned to see the fist now fully risen. He knelt to inspect it more closely. One of the fingers on the fist moved slowly until it was fully extended.
“What does it mean?” Omar asked his guards. “The thing has raised its middle finger. Is it trying to communicate?
The Bloodhound appeared, exploding in a flurry of gamma radiation directly in line with the still-open cargo bay door as alarms blared throughout the exposed Rerek destroyer.
Omar stumbled to the ground at the sight of the ship appearing out of seemingly nowhere. This day would not be good after all.