Will pushed the control stick forward throwing him and Debra back against their seats as the ship accelerated. It wasn’t long before the space cruiser showed up on the tactical display. It was on course to Celentus, but Will had no intention of it ever getting there.
Space cruisers were fast, but will’s ship was faster and slowly they drew closer to the cruiser. Apparently now aware of their presence, it turned to face them.
“Unidentified vessel,” crackled the radio. “Stand down or we will be forced to fire.”
Will activated the ship’s shields causing a violet shimmer enveloped the ship. “Earth vessel,” he radioed back. “This is Celentus space, you have no right to give orders here.”
Will now began moving the ship randomly from side to side while bringing the ship’s weapons online. A green circle appeared on the tactical display indicating the range of the ship’s weapons. Thanks to the upgrades made by Lestrol, it was larger than it used to be, but still smaller than that of the cruiser.
The cruiser fired first. Will pulled the control stick hard to the left and the plasma blast sailed harmlessly by the ship. Will returned fire and scored a hit, but the cruiser’s shields withstood it.
Veering off, Will shoved the control stick forward to put some distance between his ship and the cruiser. He knew the weakest shielding on a space cruiser was on its underside and he needed room to maneuver if he was to reach it.
The cruiser set off in pursuit. As it did so, Will tilted the nose of his ship upward and smiled as he saw the cruiser doing the same.
“Hold on,” he cried as he flipped several switches. Debra felt as if she was being pulled out of her seat as the forward control thrusters of the ship fired at full power. The aft control thrusters fired seconds later spinning the ship back towards the space cruiser which was now behind and above Will’s ship.
Will shoved the control stick forward and the ship zoomed towards the space cruiser. It fired several blasts which were on target. The ship shook with each hit, but the upgraded shields held.
As soon as he was in range, Will began firing at the underside of the cruiser. He concentrated the fire at the mid-section where the shielding was weakest. After several hits, the space cruiser’s shields began to flicker, but still held.
Will was forced to once again veer off as the cruiser scored several more hits weakening his shields.
“Almost,” muttered Will. The cruiser once again set out in pursuit, but was moving slower now. “Looks like they’ve suffered some damage,” said Will with some satisfaction. “Now to make sure they don’t go anywhere.”
Making a tight loop, he was soon heading back towards the cruise ready to make another run at its underside. The cruiser tried to turn to protect it, but was too slow. There was now less weapons fire from the cruiser and Will was able to strife the underside of the cruiser with minimal damage to his ship. Unable to handle the sustained weapons fire the cruiser’s shield finally collapsed.
Will immediately targeted their engines. Fires now burned along the exterior of the cruiser with the largest ones on the engine section.
With the cruiser immobilized, Will set course for Celentus. He looked over at Debra.
“I’m sure the cruiser must have radioed for help so they’ll know we’re coming.”
She nodded. “I guess we’ll soon find out if our plan was a success.”
The tactical display soon showed a large ship moving towards them.
“The Weapon ship?”
Will nodded. He adjusted the ship’s heading to meet it.
“Captain Power,” crackled the radio. “This is Commander Harrison. You are ordered to surrender at once. This will be your only warning.”
Will knew the name. He was an aide to General Abram who headed up Earth’s defenses. He’d met him once and wasn’t impressed. He seemed more about personal advancement than service. Will activated shields and brought the weapons online.
He looked over at Debra. “There’s an escape pod …”
She shook her head and smiled. “I’ve never been one to leave something in the middle. I always stay until the end.”
Part of him had hoped she’d leave, but knowing her, he wasn’t surprised she chose to stay. He pushed the control stick forward and headed straight for the Weapon ship.
“They don’t have shields,” he noted as they drew closer.
“I doubt any ship could get close enough for their weapons to actually hit them,” suggested Debra, her eyes trained on the sensor readings. “There’s a massive energy build up in the Weapon ship,” she called out.
Will pulled the control stick hard to the right. “They’re committed. Time to put some distance between us.”
Will had barely finished speaking when the Weapon ship exploded in an immense fireball. The force of the explosion hit the ship hard, knocking out the shields and sending them spinning out of control away from the explosion. Alarms sounded and sparks flew as the main lights failed and the emergency lights flickered to life.
Will and Debra began coughing as smoke filled the cabin. They quickly grabbed the emergency oxygen canisters strapped to the sides of their seats and put them on. The fire suppression system finally kicked and the smoke slowly began to dissipate.
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“Main engines, shields, and weapons are out,” came Will’s muffled voice from inside his mask. “And there’s no way we can repair them out here. We’ll have to rely on the auxiliary thrusters. We can move, but not very fast.”
“Life support active, but at minimum power,” reported Debra.
Will flipped some switches. “Auxiliary attitude control still functioning.” He pressed a button and the ships attitude control thrusters began firing and its spinning began to slow.
Once the ship had stabilized, Will unstrapped himself and yanked a panel off the control console. “We need to know what’s going on outside,” he explained as he got on the floor. “I’ll try and get the sensors and tactical display working.”
“Anything,” called Will from beneath the console.
“Nothing,” answered Debra
“We’ve got sensors,” called Debra after several more tries. “Debris extend over ten thousand miles from the blast.”
“Any other ships,” asked Will.
“None in sensor range.”
“Keep an eye out. I’m sure someone’s going to want to check out what happened.”
“Right.”
Will went back to work and soon the tactical display flickered to life. He climbed back into his seat. A portion of the display showed a greenish cloud which matched the debris field of the exploded Weapon ship. However, at the very edge of the display, a blip appeared.
One ship incoming,” called Will. “Looks like another space cruiser.”
Will adjusted several knobs and the ship shuddered as the auxiliary thrusters kicked in and they started moving. The rate of the ship’s approach slowed, but it was still gaining on them. Will pulled on the control stick and the ship sluggishly began to turn. Soon they were on course back towards the debris field.
As they entered it, the din of pieces of metal striking the exterior of the ship filled the cabin. As they moved deeper into the debris an alarm began to sound.
“Radiation levels increasing,” shouted Debra to be heard over the noise. Will adjusted the ship’s heading ninety degrees and slowed the ship while moving closer to the edge of the debris field. The alarm stopped and the sound of impacts lessened. They could now communicate without shouting.
The tactical display now only showed static.
Will leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. His head still ached, but his dizziness had finally gone away. He looked over at Debra.
“All we can do now is wait and hope they don’t find us.”
Debra unstrapped herself. “In that case, it’s about time I checked you out.”
Will nodded.
“Be right back.” She said as she climbed down the ladder.
In a few minutes she returned carrying a medikit. Kneeling down on the floor beside Will, she opened it and brought out the scanning tablet. Turning it on, she slowly moved it over Will’s head before checking the reading out. “Concussion,” she said putting the scanner down.
Will smiled. “Yeah, I could have told you that.”
Debra rolled her eyes at him. “Hey, who’s the doctor here?”
“Neither of us,” he answered with a laugh.
She looked at the scanner again and reached into the medikit and pulled out a metallic tube. She placed in into an opening on the scanner and pressed a button. When the scanner beeped, she removed the tube.
“This should reduce any brain swelling and relieve your headache,” she said as she pushed the tube against Will’s neck until it emitted a hissing sound.
The ship suddenly shook and a dull flash of light could be been out of the windows.
Will looked up at the tactical display which showed a whitish blotch not too far away from them. It quickly dissipated. “Looks like they’re trying to force us out.”
“How long do you think they’re going to stay out there?”
“Until someone gives them a reason to leave.” He looked at all the blinking red lights on the control panel and shook his head. “And it’s sure not going to be us.”
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The nine remaining space frigates of Celentus’s fleet waited in the Ugruss system, their sensors trained on Celentus. Lestron and Cintrel stood on the bridge of the command ship with Admiral Zelen.
“It’s been nearly a day. Shouldn’t we have detected something by now?” he asked in a blunt tone.
Cintrel shook her head. “Patience Admiral. I’m sure Captain Power will be successful.”
The Admiral was about to answer when he was interrupted by the ship’s science officer. “Sir,” he reported, “sensors have detected a large explosion in the Celentus system.”
“Open a link to all ships,” ordered the Admiral. “This is Admiral Zelen to all ships. Make for Celentus, maximum speed.”
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Will’s ship still remained in the debris field where occasional plasma blasts shook the ship. Fortunately, none had been close to hitting the ship. However, without shields, it would only take one lucky shot.
Will kept adjusting the ship’s heading randomly in the hopes of making them harder to hit. Meanwhile, Debra had begun mapping the locations of the plasma blasts fired by the space cruiser.
“Look at this,” she exclaimed bringing the map up on the main view screen. Blasts had occurred all around the edge of the debris field, but none had penetrated more than a third of the way inside it. “If we move further in, their weapons can’t reach us.”
“What about the radiation?”
“The spacesuits should provide some protection.”
Will nodded. “Let’s get our spacesuits on and I’ll take us further in.”
He brought the ship to a stop at a location just beyond the range of the space cruiser’s plasma blasters. They waited as the radiation detectors in their suits slowly moved towards the red range. Once there, they’d have no choice but to move back towards the edge of the debris field and the risk of being destroyed by a random shot from the space cruiser.
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”Status,” barked Admiral Zelen as the Celentus fleet entered the solar system.
“Sensors show a multitude of small ships and transports leaving the surface of Celentus,” reported the science officer.
Lestron and Cintrel looked at one another. “Are they retreating?”
“I don’t know,” answered the Admiral. “What’s going on with the other ships?”
“Ten Earth ships are still in orbit around the planet. Two others are maintaining positions away from Celentus. One is damaged and in open space while the other is near what appears to be a large debris field.”
“Any sign of Captain Power’s ship?” asked Cintrel.
The officer shook his head. “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“Prepare for battle and take us in,” ordered the Admiral.
The fleet activated shields and weapons and moved towards Celentus. The stream of ships leaving the surface of the planet slowed and when it ended, the space cruisers in orbit made for open space at maximum speed.
The cruiser sitting near the debris field moved off towards the damaged ship from which a large number of shuttles were now emerging. When the space cruiser arrived, the shuttles immediately began entering its shuttle bay. When the last shuttle was inside the cruiser fired its weapons at the damaged cruiser, destroying it. Once it had completed its task, the cruiser took off after the rest of the Earth fleet.
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Will and Debra waited in the ship, watching the radiation detector in their suits approaching the red range. Debra sat up and looked around. “Have you noticed?”
“Noticed what?”
“The cruiser doesn’t seem to be firing at us anymore. Do you think they left?”
Will shook his head. “More likely they want us to think they left. However, it might give us a chance to get out of this radiation.”
Will brought the auxiliary thrusters back online and gingerly guided the ship away from the radiation in the interior of the debris field. As they moved closer to the surface static started coming from the radio.
“... Power …” it hissed. “… Lest …”
“Could it be?” cried Debra.
Will wasn’t sure, but the little voice in his head wasn’t warning him away. “Let’s find out.”
He piloted the ship out of the debris field and as they drew near the edge, the radio came to life. “Captain Power, this is Lestron, come in.”
“This is Captain Power and Debra,” he answered as the ship emerged from the debris field. As the tactical display cleared, it detected the presence of a Celentus space frigate and Will set course for it.