Alliance, p.14
Alliance, page 14
Early the next morning, before the Tressillian sun had risen, a thought crept into Theo’s mind in his half wakeful state. He had been going over the audacious raid that the Antarians had mounted on Earth to release the captive. The evening before the Magellan departed, he was in the ship’s common room with the team, discussing what had happened. That discussion was still in his mind the following morning. If the Antarians could do that, was it feasible for a return visit to be made in order to get at the Antarian nerve centre? If the head of the snake could be cut off there might be a chance that the seemingly inevitable progress of the Antarians could be at least slowed, if not stopped altogether.
Once he was fully awake and dressed Theo sought out High Governor Janraken who had become the main link with the Tressillian High Command. The governor listened intently to what Theo was suggesting. If the enhanced neural networking could be used to totally shield a small ship, it might be possible to get somewhere near the Antarian home world before they were discovered. The governor relayed Theo’s idea to the other Tressillian governors as the two of them sat in Janraken’s apartment near the Great Hall. The three most senior governors soon joined their discussion, projected as holograms into the room.
Before Janraken could say anything, he received an update on the continuing battles that were taking place throughout several of the galaxies that were still being fully defended by Tressillian forces. The news was not good. On nearly all fronts it appeared that the Tressillians were being pushed back by superior numbers. More and more colony planets needed to be evacuated before they came within range of the enemy ships. The situation was brought into sharp focus by the fact that some battle cruisers were now having to be used for transport duties, thus diminishing still further the chances of holding back the seemingly unstoppable destructive spree of the Antarians.
“The idea is very compelling,” said Governor Trabet. “Would it mean that either you or your companion would need to be part of any attempted incursion into enemy space?”
Theo had assumed that one of the humans left behind on Tressillia would indeed have to be included if the proposed mission was to go ahead. There were still not many Tressillians who were at his level of network use, but there were several who were catching him up quite quickly.
“I think there’s no alternative, Governor,” replied Theo. “The enemy forces appear to be unstoppable at the moment. Even if I did not take part in a possible mission, the likelihood is that, sooner or later, the Antarians will try to attack Tressillia and we will all be in the eye of the storm then. It’s best for one of us to go and give the mission as much chance as possible to succeed.”
There was a brief pause, and with nods from the other governors present, Governor Trabet agreed to immediate planning for what could possibly be the one and only chance of survival for millions of Tressillians… and humans.
19. Into the Lion’s Den
It was one thing to have an idea, yet another to plan how to carry it out and then even more difficult in this case to put it into practice. Time was not on the side of the small group that had been assembled to carry out the task. There was to be a small group of Tressillian marines, or the equivalent of what would have been called marines on an Earth ship. Each was chosen for their skills in combat situations and decision making at short notice. One of the best captains in the Tressillian Space Force, Sandar Ensor, was co-opted from his ship to plan out both the route that might be taken and how the forces would be deployed if they managed to get as far as the Antarian home planet. One of the best Tressillian neural network team members was attached to the group that would be led by Theo in order to maximise the effect that they may be able to have once they reached their goal.
There was little discussion as the crew and the designated teams were shuttled from the surface of Tressillia up to the waiting Bullet Craft that had been prepared for the mission. Everyone knew how serious the situation had become. Lizzie and Theo made a point of having five minutes together in their busy schedules. It might be the last time the two of them saw each other. Lizzie had watched as the Magellan and the rest of the Earth Fleet had moved out from orbit around the planet, leaving just the two of them light years away from their homes. Now there was a chance that she would be the only human in such a distant part of the universe if the mission failed. It was a sobering thought, tinged with a special feeling of friendship towards Theo. They embraced each other as they parted, both not wanting to let go.
As they neared the Bullet Craft Theo couldn’t help but think of the similarity of the ship to the early space craft launches from Earth when humans first began to explore beyond their world. It was well named, shaped like a bullet with few markings on its silver exterior. It had originally been designed as a fast transit delivery craft to travel between the distant outposts of the Tressillian worlds. The interior had been stripped of its cargo carrying features and in their place were a small bridge and enough cabins for the personnel to only have to share with one other fellow traveller. In the centre of the craft was the store of armaments that were to be used if the craft either came under attack or finally reached its destination. The AI on board was the most recent incarnation of such a device that the Tressillians had developed. Many of the systems that were to be used to keep the ship on the pre-determined course were linked into those on board with the enhanced neural abilities. The mind net formed by those on the ship would also have some control over the fighting capabilities that had been engineered into the fabric of the ship’s hull. The AI and human/Tressillian mind linkages also had the ability to cause the ship to self-destruct. That would be the last resort. It was very important that the ship, with its highly skilled and developed personnel and systems, did not fall into enemy hands.
There was a final message of thanks from the Tressillian Governing Council as the ship gathered speed on its journey. The hopes of many worlds were resting on the success of this one mission. The Tressillian Space Forces would do their best to stem the advance of the Antarians into their space, but the forces they were trying to combat were outnumbering them in nearly all the skirmishes and defence rings that they were trying to establish around major planets under their control. As each day passed there were far more reports coming in of defeats and retreats from the overwhelming Antarian attacks. When there was the occasional success, the commanders and council members analysed what had been in their favour to see if lessons could be learned. The same obviously needed to be done with the mounting situations where evacuation and retreat were the only option. The Antarians were losing ships, but every time a major success was celebrated by the allies there seemed to be more enemy ships to take the place of those that had been destroyed or damaged.
The track of the Bullet Craft had been carefully worked out to take it across space using as many sub-Vector Lines as possible. All being well, it would take just over fifteen Tressillian days before the Antarian home world came into range. The Antarian raid on Earth had the support of a Battle Cruiser. The Bullet Craft was on its own, streaking across intergalactic space as a speed that took it far beyond the speed that any Earth craft had ever attained. The mind net established on board had been extended to form a protection field around the small space ship. It was hoped that the field would act as a shielding bubble around the craft and also as a cloaking system. The AI on board had been programmed to maintain the highest level of defence possible, with the linkages between the networkers and the energy-heavy shielding system having to be balanced against the need for the mission to get through to its target as speedily as possible, but also in one piece. Controlling a Bullet Craft at the speed it was maintaining had never been attempted before. It was made even harder by at least one of the networkers having to be linked up to the ship’s systems at all times. A system of four hours on and then a respite period was established, but at the end of each session of being linked into the AI and the other ship’s systems, the exhaustion was plain to see.
Communications from the craft to Tressillia were kept to a minimum so as not to alert the enemy. After six days, despite having come close to enemy actions that had resulted in subtle changes of course to avoid detection, the first test of the ship’s capabilities came as they jumped Vector Lines to alter their course. At the moment of transfer from one to the other, meaning the ship had to drop into normal space for a few seconds, the warning systems aboard sounded. An Antarian force of around five ships was detected moving away from the jump point and also away from the route that the bullet ship was taking. The progress of the enemy flotilla was monitored as it continued to move away. It seemed that they had escaped detection, but it was a close-run thing.
The small craft carrying the hopes of many humans and Tressillians ploughed on, gradually getting nearer to its destination. With one Tressillian day to go the final preparations were made on board for the audacious attack on the Antarian home world. So far, they had been lucky and the cloaking systems had seemingly done their job well. Perhaps the most dangerous part of the mission was now approaching far more quickly than many on board wanted. Everyone knew that, if they succeeded in disrupting the Antarians at their source, there was at least a chance that all would not be lost.
The neural network set up on board was at full awareness level as the ship dropped off the sub-Vector Line as close to the target as possible. Detection systems showed the many space craft that were shuttling between the planet and its two moons. Three large space stations orbited the largest of the moons, whilst what could only have been a space construction dock had at least three Battle Cruisers under construction. The AI brought the bullet ship to a halt as it dropped off the Line. There were a nervous few minutes as the AI and the neural networkers scanned the system. So far, they had escaped detection. Once the ship began to move again though, and despite the best efforts at cloaking it, there was going to be a trail left behind as it gathered speed towards the planet. All defence systems were put on maximum alert as the order was given to start the run to the final target.
The strategy decided upon was simple. Perhaps too simple; to approach the planet from the side opposite its moons. That might avoid defences that could be targeted on the craft from the moons as well as the planet itself. It was only a theory, but better than trying to get through what obviously would be immense firepower. One of the Antarians who had been captured in the battle for Earth had eventually provided information on the layout of the command centre on the main continent of the Antarian Planet. Everyone hoped that what he had provided was in fact the truth – much was depending on it. As the Bullet Craft neared the planet, they were caught in a pulsing beam that was probably part of the defence system as it scanned out from the Antarian Command Centre situated on an island in a large ocean. Theo was struck by the similarities to Earth; white clouds drifted across three large land masses on the side of the planet they were approaching, currently in darkness as it revolved around the twin suns that provided the intense light in this solar system. Lights sparkled in several concentrations on each of the continents, twinkling through the planet’s atmosphere, whilst the lights of low orbit craft could be seen as they criss-crossed the planet. All seemed peaceful, just as it would if the Bullet Craft were orbiting Earth. Theo wondered if there were families down there as there were back home, just going about their usual activities or sleeping, without knowing that an enemy craft had, so far, penetrated their defences undetected.
Theo was still thinking about his home planet when one of the Tressillian neural team joined him on the bridge of the ship. Theo could sense that there was something that Angor Sylan was eager to ask him.
“So far, we have been fortunate in that our shielding has protected us from the Antarian search beams,” said Angor, a Tressillian that Theo had come to know well as the space craft was heading silently towards its objective. “The nearer we are to the planet, the more likely it is that even the faint traces of the ship’s Hydrogen Drive will begin to register on their defence systems. I have been following the movements of several transporter ships that are orbiting the planet over the last few hours and they seem to each have a code that is recognised automatically by the defences. If we can intercept one of the high orbit ships that also have the same type of code recognition and capture it by extending our shields around it, I believe that we could fool the Antarian systems long enough for us to land in their Central Command area and give them quite a surprise.”
Theo listened intently to Angor as he continued to explain how the capture might be possible without alerting the Antarians. It was a daring plan that, if it succeeded, would give the allies a much-needed window in which to wreak havoc. Angor had obviously spent a great deal of thinking time on his plan and there certainly were aspects of it that seemed promising to Theo. After a few minutes more thinking over some of the details of how their ship could manoeuvre close to a target ship in orbit and testing out the shield expansion theory with the captain and the others on the neural team, they fed the parameters of the proposed action into the ship’s AI and asked it to scan the orbiting ships for the most likely target. They would have to be well prepared after the target was identified as there would only be a short time that the capture could be completed successfully.
The ship gradually drew closer to the planet. Its AI identified a high orbit craft that was making its way across the southern hemisphere. With shields and cloaking at full power, or as full as possible with the ship accelerating towards the vessel that was now in the centre of the detailed plot on the bridge, they came up behind the Antarian ship. It was about the same size as their bullet ship. They joined together to try to extend their mind web around it. The AI matched its speed and followed it nose to tail as the field gradually moved out and enveloped it. A quick scan for life showed that it was a drone ship, programmed to land at the Command Centre space port after two more orbits of the planet. So far, the plan had worked perfectly. The Bullet Ship’s AI quickly locked onto the navigation and communication systems of the transporter and identified the unique code that kept it safe from the planet’s defences. As its trajectory moved it from high orbit to a low orbit it was followed by the Dart, as the Bullet Ship had become jokingly known by all on board. The final approach to the Antarian Space Port was well under way when two small craft were observed taking off from a complex of buildings on the edge of the port and heading straight for the transporter and its close follower.
“I think we might have company on its way,” said Angor Sylan as the two craft were identified as planetary fighters and were obviously well armed. “They don’t look like a friendly welcoming party to me.”
A few seconds later the communication channels that had been taken over indicated that an incoming query from one of the fighters to the transporter’s automatic identification systems had been answered with its protection code. After a couple of minutes that seemed a lot longer, the fighters split from their courses on trajectories that would take them one on each side of the two craft.
“Battle stations!” the Tressillian captain abruptly announced. “Prepare to drop the shields and fire at my command.”
There was a flurry of activity throughout the ship as protective suits were quickly put on and hatch ways between parts of the ship were sealed in case of a hit from enemy fire.
It’s like waiting until we see the whites of their eyes, thought Theo, as the captain tried to judge the best moment to fully reveal his ship. Before he could take any action, the fighter that had peeled off to the port side opened fire as it sped past. The Antarians quite obviously knew that something was amiss with the innocent looking transporter and were taking no chances. Although the ruse had worked for an orbit and a half, the combined entry of two craft in such close proximity must have triggered suspicions even if the Dart’s cloaking was working. It had been anticipated that the necessary orbit deviations that were necessary for two craft entering the atmosphere would probably be picked up on the surface. As the fighter’s pilot turned in the usual circular pattern for another run, the second fighter also unleashed a volley. At that moment the Dart’s Captain dropped the ship’s cloaking and shielding and the AI locked onto both the fighters and returned fire. As he did so the Dart suddenly reduced speed to put a growing distance between it and the transporter. It was not a moment too soon. Both the volleys from the fighters slammed into the transporter. A blinding flash lit up the area in front of the Dart where the enemy ship had been moments before. The fighter pilots were good shots, but had aimed at the wrong target. Captain Ensor took the Dart to full power and on a course that took it below the expanding debris from the transporter. As he did so, one of the fighters disappeared in a bright flash as returned fire hit home. The remaining fighter was by now completing its circle to bring it back to attack for a second time. Suddenly the fighter veered away before firing again. The Dart was heading straight for an orbiting space station. An attack from the fighter this close to the station would have taken out not only the Dart, but also the space station. The captain was again using all his experience to avoid the heavily armed Fighter. Several of the crew on the allied ship held their breath whilst the captain took the Dart as close to the station as possible without actually crashing into it. As they raced past, the defences of the Space Station started firing as the ship moved away from it and entered the upper atmosphere. Taking a zigzag path, the captain, with help from the ship’s AI, aimed directly for the Command Centre on the largest of the planet’s continents. As he did so, Theo and the others in the neural network sensed that several more Fighters were coming up to meet them.
“Deploy the decoys,” ordered the captain.
Several small drones were ejected from ports that had opened on the sides of the Dart and the ship’s AI instantly programmed them with the signature of the now destroyed drone ship. The hope was that they would confuse the fighter’s aiming capabilities. As the drones spread out around the Dart the upcoming fighters began to fire and the ship’s first officer fired a return volley that was designed to spread out from the ship towards the attackers. Three of the drones did their job immediately, taking direct hits from the fighters. As they exploded, Captain Ensor increased the entry angle of the ship and the remaining enemy burst of fire swept over the diving Dart, taking out several more of the drones.
