They Answered The Call

Kepler-11 System

GFS Hammer of Grilk’nir, Protector-Class Battleship

2,110 light-years from Earth, year 123,006 B.C.

Shelk’nir couldn’t stop its hands from shaking as it continued to relay sensor information to the elder commanding the flagship. It continued sending the most recent data directly to the spinal tap that was shunted into the base of the elder’s skull as it continued to send orders to the fleet.

For twelve solar days, they were forced to retreat again and again under the overwhelming Balrikan onslaughts as the ill-prepared Federation started marshaling its far-flung navies to confront the invaders.

Already, seven border provinces had fallen to the unstoppable wave, and the Balrikan fleets had scoured fourteen worlds with their antimatter bombs, slaughtering almost forty billion souls.

The hateful creatures were not content with just eradicating the innocent. They also recorded the final moments of those worlds. They sent video and audio recordings to the nearby worlds with evidence of their atrocities via every known method of transmission, as both a warning and a promise of what was to come.

The militia forces of the border provinces were hastily assembled and intercepted one of the Balrikan fleets as it launched its attack twelve solar days ago. They were woefully outnumbered, their meager two thousand ships facing off against the over ten thousand Balrikan vessels that were attacking the provinces they were tasked with defending.

The 84,000 Balrikan warships of the invasion had been split into eight massive fleets, and they launched a blistering multi-pronged assault forcing the unprepared Federation to defend multiple fronts along their borders.

The ferocity and speed of their attacks surprised the Federation as they launched probing attacks towards the Core Worlds, further diluting the scant local military forces capable of responding to the initial incursions as reinforcements were diverted to protect the interior.

After a series of sharp, pitched battles, the two thousand-strong militia fleet now numbered 916 warships, and they had retreated to this system that was next in line along the invaders’ axis of attack in the hopes of finally blunting the advance.

There were almost thirty billion Federation citizens in the system, and though not a Core World, it was an older settled system and much more developed than the outlying colony worlds of the border regions.

The system had a strong network of forts and defensive satellites that would bolster the combat power of the depleted fleet as it prepared to defend the strategic system and prevent it from being used as a staging base to invade the Federation interior.

The only reason why the fleet was still a viable force was the technological superiority they had over the invaders, and they capitalized on that advantage, destroying four Balrikan ships for every one militia warship destroyed.

They were just so heavily outnumbered that they were still losing despite such a devastating loss ratio in their favor, and even the Ma’lit crews, well known for their emotional control, were suffering severe morale issues from the constant retreats.

The elder issued commands for the fleet to reorganize into formations anchored by the forts of the outer system, and orders were issued for an additional 120 defense satellites to be moved from the inner system to bolster the outer system's defensive networks.

An alert came across its station, and Shelk’nir forwarded the scanning results to the elder as it took in the information being displayed on the holographic interface in front of it.

The retreating fleet had left a string of spy drones in null space behind it, and the drones were programmed to flash out and alert the fleet once it detected the invaders.

Quickly calculating the sensor readings, Shelk’nir turned to face the elder sitting in its command chair. “Honored Elder, I predict that the Balrikan fleet will arrive in approximately forty-two solar minutes.”

The elder blinked its eyes slowly before answering. “How many ships, Pad-Lon Shelk’nir?”

Quickly looking at the panel interface to confirm the number, Shelk’nir glanced back at the elder before answering the question. “6,436 Balrikan warships, Honored Elder.”

Another slow blink. “Very well, Pad-Lon. Order the task forces to accelerate their deployment timelines. Send four light battlecruisers to the inner system to onload the defense satellites and bring them back here. This is where I want them deployed.”

The elder flicked a forefinger, and a string of coordinates appeared on the panel, indicating where the defense satellites were to be placed. Shelk’nir forwarded the information to the four cruisers, and a few seconds later he saw the sensor information indicating that they had flashed into null space.

“Dil-Son Kenth’dir, you will start deploying the particle accelerator mines along this path.” The elder called out to the weapons officer as he flicked his forefinger again, and the main viewer came to life on the forward bulkhead, displaying the outer system.

Making small, deft movements with its four fingers, the elder traced a line beyond the orbital path of the sixth planet as he pinpointed the exact locations where he wanted the new weapons system deployed.

They had only been field tested six solar months ago, and a military transport ship had delivered twelve of the mines to the militia fleet two days ago, with the elder commander of the transport ship making promises to return with more as fast as it could.

The elder took advantage of the current orbital paths of the six planets in the system and the Balrikan tendency to immediately engage in combat with any ships present by placing the mines in strategic locations where they would have the most effect.

Twelve destroyers locked tractor beams on the mines and flashed into null space to deploy them. Twenty-five solar minutes later, the four battlecruisers returned, their holds filled with the 120 defense satellites, and hurriedly started transshipment procedures as they offloaded the satellites to dozens of waiting destroyers.

As soon as the cargo holds of the smaller destroyers were filled, they flashed out to deploy the satellites in the locations selected by the elder. Shelk’nir worriedly eyed the countdown as it continued to coordinate the deployment and final dispositions of the task forces with the other ships of the fleet.

Two solar minutes before the expected arrival of the Balrikan fleet, the particle accelerator mines and the defense satellites were finally deployed, and the destroyers started burning back towards their respective task forces at maximum sub-light as they deployed collectors to harvest the argonium needed to recharge their null space capacitors.

As the countdown passed ten seconds, Shelk’nir felt the shaking in its hands subside as the prospect of combat grew closer. It was not afraid to die, and during combat, an unusual calmness came over it during the fleet actions.

It was only when the fighting was over that the atavistic fear organ in its brain stem would cause trouble, and Shelk’nir would have to deal with the troubling side effects of the Ma’lit version of the adrenaline dump that the Magnati warriors spoke of frequently.

The main viewer showed the area where the invader fleet was expected to flash out, and Shelk’nir said a quick prayer to the Creator, thanking it for not allowing the Balrikans to figure out how to flash out of null space within the inner system.

Having to flash out at least 800,000,000 likals from the primary was a severe tactical disadvantage for the Balrikans and one of the only reasons why the militia was able to fight as well as it had against such numerical superiority.

This allowed the militia to lay traps and utilize defense in depth as they fell back deeper into the inner systems, exacting a high price from the Balrikans. When the tactical situation became untenable, the militia would finally yield the system to them before retreating to another one to do it all over again.

The countdown hit zero, and it was at minus six seconds when the Balrikan ships finally started flashing into the system, thousands of pinpoint lights appearing in the darkness as over 6,000 enemy warships flashed out of null space right where the elder predicted they would.

Shelk’nir kept his eyes locked on his station as the sensor recordings became almost too fast to keep up with as the massive invading fleet started shaking into the battle formations favored by the Balrikans.

They employed large formations that allowed for overwhelming local fire superiority and mutual support, using their formations like bludgeons as they charged into the Federation battle lines after firing all their missiles and torpedoes from stand-off distance.

Their numerical advantage allowed them to use such tactics to great effect against the much smaller Federation fleet, and the militia was forced to adapt their tactics to compensate, paying a heavy price to learn how to fight against such overwhelming numbers.

The Balrikan formations finally assumed their standard formations, and six massive task forces of a thousand ships each started maneuvering as they fired tremendous volleys of the missiles and torpedoes that seemed to comprise their main offensive armament.

Opening an encrypted fleet-wide communication channel, the fleet elder started issuing orders.

“Eject the decoys and mines and initiate their stealth protocols. All ships maintain their position. All elders will change shift rotations to ensure rest periods for all crew. The estimated arrival time of the Balrikan missile volleys is thirteen solar hours from now.

I want every ship to perform cold-running simulations every solar hour, starting now. Execute.” The elder called out, initiating a flurry of activity among the bridge crew as they started following the orders.

Shelk’nir hurriedly worked on the controls of the panel in front of it, activating the cold-running simulation. The AI simulated the ship dumping the massive heatsinks and flushing the radiator fins of the battleship they were on before closing all the ports and windows of the ship.

While its AI assistant started those procedures, Shelk’nir also simulated shutting down all primary and secondary systems that produced detectable emissions capable of breaching silent emissions protocol 2. After five minutes, the simulation was over, and the AI assistant confirmed that it was successful.

These operating procedures were sent to the militia fleet two solar days ago from Fleet Command following the successful defense of the Slikaath sector by a combined 3,000 strong Magnati/Wan’sho fleet.

The Magnati commander leading the combined forces came up with the protocols, hoping to force the Balrikan invasion fleet to deplete their missile and torpedo complements in a wasted effort to strike silent and cold ships that their weapons couldn’t find before finally running out of fuel.

The Wan’sho executive officer also had an excellent idea, and after conferring with the engineering staff to see if it was feasible, he approached the Magnati fleet commander to institute his plan.

The commander gave the go-ahead, and the executive officer and engineering staff started modifying the probe and drone inventory of the fleet to put out emissions and signals comparable to larger Federation warships.

They also reconfigured thousands of small mines for dual use, either to blind the targeting computers of the Balrikan warheads or to function as anti-missile mines.

The Balrikan warhead computers, far less advanced than the AI warheads used by the Federation, hopefully would not be able to discern that they were being spoofed by autonomous probes and drones and would follow their programming, targeting any Federation emission or signal sources.

When the combined Magnat/Wan’sho fleet finally intercepted the Balrikan invasion fleet in an uninhabited system in the Slikaath sector, they put their tactics to the test with resounding success.

Over 10,000 warships of the Balrikan fleet entered the system, and seeing the much smaller Federation fleet in the system, they gave battle.

The Magnati commander waited until the first two Balrikan volleys had traveled eleven of the twelve-hour transit time before having his fleet eject thousands of the small, modified probes and drones and then initiate the cold running protocols.

The sixty-thousand missile and torpedo warheads of the two Balrikan volleys suddenly found themselves losing target locks as the 3,000 Federation warships suddenly dumped all their heat sinks and radiator fins, creating a massive thermal bloom.

Using chemical and gas thrusters that gave off no heat, the already loosely formed Federation fleet dispersed from their initial locations, now as cold as the space around them, and they simply ceased to exist on the Balrikan warhead scanners.

The Balrikan targeting computers continued to guide themselves towards the last known locations of the Federation ships and then cut off their thrusters to conserve the last of their fuel for the final terminal guidance phase.

When the two volleys reached thirty thousand kilometers from the last known locations of the Federation fleet, the targeting computers were just about to switch their targeting parameters to active scanning when thousands of Federation warships suddenly appeared on their scanners.

The targets lit up the battlespace as they fled deeper into the inner system, and the Balrikan warhead computers activated their thrusters and initiated their terminal guidance phase as they achieved target locks.

The sixty thousand missiles and torpedoes, now less than 10,000 likals from their targets, initiated their final booster phase to close the distance when they flew right into a stealth minefield.

Hundreds of salted fusion proximity mines detonated, and thousands of Balrikan missiles that were close to the mines disappeared in the initial explosions or were slagged by the incredible heat, turning into useless hunks of metal.

Thousands of missiles further out from the mines became non-functional or self-destructed as their delicate warhead computers were destroyed by the multiple types of deadly radiation that bathed the space around each mine for thousands of kilometers.

The ten thousand missiles and torpedoes that survived the minefield exited the area and continued to chase the Federation spoof drones when they entered yet another stealth minefield.

This minefield was reconfigured for electronic warfare and emitted powerful jamming signals to render the warhead targeting locks ineffective. This caused the missile warheads to revert to their default loitering mode as they flew in circles, vainly trying to reestablish targeting locks.

They finally ran out of fuel and were now drifting impotently. The Balrikan warhead computers activated their self-destruct protocols to ensure that they could not be utilized by enemies, and the area of space they were in became momentarily speckled with miniature supernovae as thousands of powerful anti-ship missiles detonated their nuclear warheads.

Twice more, this was repeated as the Balrikan fleet fired their last missile and torpedo volleys while closing the gap between the two fleets. Forty-nine solar hours after their arrival in the system, the Balrikan fleet finally closed to within 100,000 likals of the Federation fleet.

The massive Balrikan battle formations charged at the much smaller Federation fleet, assured of their victory as they armed their directed energy weapons systems and short-range anti-ship torpedoes.

The Magnati and Wan’sho ships had a forty thousand likal range advantage with their advanced particle accelerators, and the Balrikan charge turned into a bloodbath as the extremely potent Federation war beams eliminated over three thousand Balrikan warships before they finally entered their own maximum range and fired back.

The Balrikan energy weapons were largely ineffective as their beams suffered severe attenuation at such long ranges, and the AI battle computers of the Magnati and Wan’sho warships expertly engaged in complicated evasive maneuvers that reduced the Balrikan hit rate to less than 5% as they struggled to close the gap.

Another two thousand Balrikan warships were destroyed or turned into slag as the war beams found them before they finally reached their optimal firing range of twenty thousand likals and started hitting and damaging Magnati and Wan’sho warships.

The Balrikan fleet, now numbering just over 5,000 ships, had their first real taste of battle with the two eminent warrior species of the Federation and were handed their first true defeat since they launched their crusade to cleanse the entire galaxy six hundred cycles ago.

For the first time, they faced an enemy of true warriors who excelled in the arts of war and reveled in the joy of battle. The Magnati and Wan’sho ships surged forward and closed with the Balrikan warships, their weapons systems decimating the invading ships while the advanced armor of their hulls withstood multiple hits.

The canid Wan’sho, descended from pack animals, employed the same tactics as their ancestors as they ganged up on the larger warships of the Balrikans and overwhelmed them. They would also bait Balrikan ships by venting gases and creating controlled fires in their cargo bays to act like they were heavily damaged while fleeing, leading pursuing enemy ships into carefully laid ambushes.

The Magnati fought in groups of three or as individual duelists, each ship commander taking their own initiative as they deemed fit while still following the overarching battle plan of the Magnati fleet commander.

The Balrikan command ship, a massive battleship that was heavily armed and armored, suddenly found itself in a duel with a Magnati battleship. The Magnati battleship was smaller, but their advanced armor technology and weapons systems gave it a decisive advantage.

The Magnati capital ship mauled its much larger counterpart, turning it into a powerless derelict within two minutes of the duel starting. Numerous ports opened along the starboard side of the battleship, and grapplers shot out and locked onto the few undamaged hull sections of the Balrikan command they could find.

The powerful grapplers pulled the mortally wounded battleship to within five likals of the Magnati warship. Dozens of large openings appeared, and thousands of Magnati shock troopers streamed out of them, their black combat suits propelling them into the many large hull breaches as they boarded the enemy command ship.

The few surviving Balrikan crewmembers offered no resistance, too shocked by the action to even try, as they had never experienced being boarded before. The Magnati troopers gave no quarter, and they killed every member of the crew they came across as they headed towards the engine compartments and command center.

They took control of the engineering spaces and the bridge, and they managed to capture the Balrikan fleet commander before he could commit suicide. They quickly set up recording equipment and opened an encrypted communication line to the Magnati battleship.

The battleship transmitted video of a shock trooper holding the reptilian Balrikan fleet commander up in the air by the scruff of his neck before breaking it; the audible crack of the vertebrae was easily heard on the silent bridge. The video was broadcast on all known frequencies, and the results were astonishing.

The surviving Balrikan fleet formations stopped fighting coherently, and it seemed as if all command and control were lost as the remaining two thousand strong Balrikan fleet dissolved into an uncoordinated mass of ships that stopped supporting each other.

The battle turned into an utter rout, and the Federation fleet destroyed every single Balrikan warship within the next two hours. None of them tried to flee or escape, and they self-destructed when there were other attempts to board or capture other Balrikan ships.

The battle finally ended, and there was not a single Balrikan alive in the system. The Federation fleet had destroyed 10,309 Balrikan warships, and their own losses were 419 ships destroyed and 1,643 ships with varying degrees of damage.

After the battle, Fleet Command sent hundreds of comm drones throughout the Federation to show the marshaling military forces the results of the first Federation victory to bolster morale.

They also sent the protocols used in the battle to all military forces, including the militia fleet that Shelk’nir was in, via encrypted spy drones to be uploaded by the AI battle computers.

Now, the surviving 916 ships of the militia fleet hoped to repeat the victory.

The shift change alert came over the bridge intercom system, and Shelk’nir left the station to go to its quarters for the mandated rest period. After praying and eating, it forced itself to lie down in the sleep pod and programmed a sleep aid to be dispensed, knowing it would not be able to fall asleep without pharmaceutical intervention.

Ten solar hours later, Shelk’nir woke up and prepared itself for the coming battle. It recorded a message to be delivered to its mate upon the event of its death and prayed one more time for the Creator to grant them victory.

One hundred and thirty solar minutes after awaking, Shelk’nir was back at its station, nervously eyeing the missile and torpedo tracks as the Balrikan anti-ship weapons headed towards their positions.

The outer system colonies were currently being bombarded by elements of the Balrikan fleet that stayed behind as the main body continued burning towards their positions. Already, almost two billion citizens were in the process of being exterminated as the antimatter bombs fell on their homes.

Shelk’nir shook with rage as the audio and video transcripts of the cries of terror and the annihilation of the innocents transmitted by the hateful creatures at light speed finally arrived in the inner system, a warning that heralded the doom coming for the other twenty-eight billion innocents.

The elder had the uncensored transcripts played on all the militia ships, and Shelk’nir understood why, though listening to the pleas broke his soul. Unlike the Magnati and the Wan’sho, much of the Federation's membership was from peaceful, pacifist cultures.

Like the Ma’lit, war was unknown to these species, something they left behind millennia ago as they developed into space-faring societies. The membership needed to face the truth about what kind of enemy the Balrikans were, and they needed to reclaim their long-forgotten atavistic impulses if they were to survive.

Just having advanced weaponry and armor was not enough when faced with such a vicious enemy. They needed to learn how to fight again and learn soon if they had any hope of winning this war.

A strident alert snapped Shelk’nir out of its reverie, and it focused on the panel in front of it, seeing that the Balrikan weapons were almost in range. The elder called out for the fleet to initiate the cold-running procedures, and Shelk’nir activated the program as it tapped the icon.

The AI assistant took over as Shelk’nir started the emission control protocols, and after twelve long solar minutes, it sent a pulse to a spy drone that was 10,000 likals away from the fleet. The spy drone responded and sent the scanning results.

The entire militia fleet was undetectable, and there was now a massive heat bloom where the fleet used to be as they dispersed using chemical and gas thrusters to relocate. Another alert sounded, and the Balrikan projectile weapons had finally reached the thirty thousand likal mark.

Following their programming, two groupings of four hundred probes and drones that were positioned on the flanks of the dispersed militia fleet activated and started broadcasting powerful Federation emissions as they fled towards preselected coordinates.

The 35,000-strong Balrikan missile and torpedo swarm split as the warhead computers communicated with each other, and the massive volley was divided into two parts as they chased after the decoys.

The decoys went into the first two stealth minefields that were laid, passing through them safely before decelerating when they were safely outside the blast range. To the Balrikan warhead computers, it would seem as if the two small fleets had stopped fleeing and were now preparing to try to shoot them down.

The two missile volleys entered the minefields, and the mines waited until the main body was in the center of the two fields before triggering their salted fusion warheads.

A maelstrom of deadly energy was released as thousands of proximity mines detonated, engulfing the projectile weapons as they were turned to slag or rendered inert as their warhead computers were burned out. Not a single missile or torpedo survived the two minefields.

This was the only volley fired by the Balrikan fleet as they rapidly approached their location. The elder had correctly assumed the multiple battles they fought with this fleet as they retreated had depleted their munition stocks and planned accordingly.

The large Balrikan formations were rapidly approaching the orbital path of the sixth planet, and Shelk’nir watched the sensor plot on its panel with anticipation as they finally reached the weapons range of the new particle accelerator mines.

The elder flicked its finger, and the main viewer flickered before showing the telemetry from several spy drones hidden in the vicinity. There were twelve brilliant flares of light, and the screen dimmed automatically to compensate before applying the filters.

Shelk’nir gaped open-mouthed at the results of the mines as they fired at the unsuspecting Balrikan warships. It could not see the particle accelerator beams themselves, but it could see the devastating results of the beams striking their targets.

A Balrikan battleship, almost five likals in length and with a 1.5 likal beam at its widest point, was torn completely in half when a single hit from one of the mines struck it directly amidship.

The massive construct of war snapped in half, and the two pieces drifted for a few seconds before the fusion reactors in the aft section went critical and destroyed the two halves, reducing the once mighty battleship to its constituent atoms.

Across the minefield, the same results were repeated as the twelve stealth mines continued to detonate the fusion warheads in their inventory and channel the destructive energy into a single particle beam that annihilated the targeted ships.

The Balrikan formations disintegrated as they broke ranks, initiated evasion courses, and tried to figure out what was hitting them.

The elder had placed them in a staggered pattern separated by hundreds of thousands of likals, both above and below the plane of the ecliptic, to ensure that the mines would not hit each other as they targeted and destroyed enemy vessels.

The incredibly powerful particle beam mines also had a greatly extended range over their shipborne counterparts, as they could be constructed without concern for irradiating biologicals.

The result was an effective range of 120,000 likals, and the minefield depth and placement meant that the Balrikan ships would have to run a gauntlet of almost two million likals. The twelve mines had an inventory of two hundred warheads each and could fire a shot every ten seconds.

They also had cold gas thruster systems to displace after every shot to prevent them from being hit by counterfire from the targeted ships, though this was not a real concern with the limited range of the Balrikan energy weapons.

For five solar hours, the Balrikan vessels were forced to travel through the deadly crossfire before they finally passed out of the weapons range of the last segment of the minefield.

The advanced targeting AIs onboard the mines performed brilliantly, and they had an 85% hit rate despite the desperate evasion measures employed by the panicked Balrikan vessels.

Two thousand and eighty-nine Balrikan warships never made it out of the minefield, and the battered fleet reformed and continued its course for the inner system, where the remaining twenty-eight billion Federation citizens resided.

The Balrikan fleet finally reached the orbital path of the sixth planet, and the first line of defensive satellites activated, firing on the nearest enemy formations. The counterfire from the Balrikan ships was expertly executed, and dozens of satellites were destroyed as the large formations passed by them.

Still, the defensive weapons systems exacted their toll, and many dozens of enemy vessels were destroyed and heavily damaged as the small satellites fired their particle beams at any targets within their range.

The Balrikans adapted their formations to the incoming satellite fire, dispersing as they initiated evasion protocols again and greatly reducing the hit rates of the defensive platforms.

They continued to burn towards the fifth planet as they penetrated deeper into the system and searched for the militia fleet that was hiding in the area.

“Have the forts activate their engines and come out from behind the planet. I want them positioned here, here, and here.” The elder called out as it highlighted the locations it wanted the three forts currently behind the planet to reposition themselves.

The elder had ordered the three forts to decelerate, power down, and stay behind the large planet to prevent them from being targeted by the Balrikan missile volleys, as they were practically static defenses and would be targeted for destruction by the enemy.

“They are to disregard safety procedures and speed limitations. I want them there in forty-five solar minutes, and they have my permission to run the reactors to 120% of the maximum rating.” The elder called out again as Shelk’nir started relaying the elder’s orders to the three planetary defense fort crews.

The Balrikan fleet would arrive in just over a solar hour, and Shelk’nir again confirmed to the nervous operations officers of the three forts that they were to disregard all safety protocols, understanding their reluctance.

The forts were almost two hundred cycles old, and running the reactors at 120% of their maximum rating was fraught with risks, notwithstanding the fact that they had been properly maintained by the Federation Engineering Corps since they had been built.

The massive forts activated their engines and thrusters, and powerful towing vessels, already attached to the anchor points, added their overpowered engines to the effort.

The forts started slowly moving as their tremendous mass was propelled by the struggling engines of the forts and the towing vessels. Twenty solar minutes later, the forts finally reached the halfway point as they came around the planet and began the deceleration burn to slow them down before finally repositioning.

An alert from the AI assistant appeared on the panel, and Shelk’nir glanced at it. As it looked at the scanning report and analyzed the AI interpretation of the results, it grew alarmed and swiveled in the chair to face the elder.

“Elder, the enemy formations are starting deceleration procedures far sooner than expected. They are reacting to the emergence of the forts from behind the planet.” Shelk’nir said to the elder as it sent the scanning results to the holographic panel in front of the elder.

After a slow blink, Shelk’nir could see the eyes of the elder quickly moving as it took in the scanning report before responding. “This was to be expected, Pad-Lon Shelk’nir, though perhaps not so soon. Hopefully this will cause them to abandon their invasion of the system.”

Another strident alert sounded on the panel behind Shelk’nir, and it turned back around to see what the AI assistant was warning about now. The same alert sounded on the weapons station panel, and the AI battle computer suddenly came over the bridge speakers as it addressed the elder.

~Elder Yrith’vir, I am detecting anomalous readings from multiple enemy battleships and heavy cruisers. Scanning results indicate they are activating a projectile weapons system not previously deployed. ~

The elder responded to the battle AI immediately. “Is this another missile or torpedo system we have not faced before? What does your analysis indicate?”

The battle AI responded immediately.

~Elder Yrith’nir, please direct your attention to the main viewer. I have accessed nearby spy drone telemetry, and I believe you will reach the same conclusion as I have. I have assessed with a 99.2% probability that they are currently deploying a mass-driver weapons system. ~

The view screen changed to the nearest spy drone as it focused on the battleships and heavy cruisers near it, zooming in and enhancing the video resolution.

A narrow 1.5-likal-long ventral section was separating from the keels of dozens of decelerating warships, and they watched as the sections modified, forming two rails that glowed as electrical current started arcing among the vanes.

“Shinka’tah!” screamed the elder, making the bridge crew flinch from the unexpected vulgar outburst of the normally reserved elder. It started issuing orders frantically, its voice carrying the nervousness and shock it was experiencing.

“Order the forts and the towing ships to start evasive maneuvers. Order them to evacuate the cargo bays and then vent them, NOW!” The elder screamed, loudly slamming its two fists on the armrests of the command chair as if emphasizing the urgency of its orders.

“All ships, abort cold running and crash-start your reactors! Override all safety protocols; we need to give the enemy something else to worry about before they take out the forts.”

The elder continued rapidly issuing more orders, and it was almost impossible for Shelk’nir to keep up as it tried to execute the orders and coordinate with its counterparts in the fleet and on the forts.

It stabbed at multiple icons with numb fingers while its trembling voice relayed the commands over the comm channels. Glancing rapidly between the viewer and the panel, Shelk’nir tried to keep tabs on what was happening.

The three forts stopped decelerating and started firing their positioning thrusters as the towing ships disconnected from their anchor points and scrambled to reconnect to other anchor points to change the momentum of the massive constructs.

Massive cargo bay doors opened on the sides of the forts, and the sudden expelling of the atmosphere within did little to radically change their directions, but every effort undertaken was critical as one of the screens on the viewer showed the dozens of mass drivers continuing to charge up.

The Balrikan warships maneuvered to aim their deadly weapons at the ponderously moving forts, and Shelk’nir winced as the first of them achieved a full charge.

The tremendous energy of the rails underwent one last furious arc between them before there was a blinding flash of light and they shot their projectiles.

Shelk’nir looked at the panel and gasped at the sensor readings, almost not believing what it was seeing. The dozens of projectiles were traveling at 120 likals per solar second, and they would reach the targeted fort in twenty-seven solar minutes.

Shelk’nir flicked the scanning results onto the viewer, and the weapons officer had its AI assistant run calculations before confirming the speed and time of arrival. There were audible gasps from the bridge crew, and the elder muttered to itself before addressing the bridge crew.

“Order the targeted fort to begin evacuation procedures. I want every soul on that fort to be headed to safety in fifteen solar minutes. See that it is done. Pad-Lon Shelk’nir, order Task Force 5 to break away from the main fleet and assemble into an assault formation. We are going to disrupt their next volley. Execute.”

Shelk’nir started furiously tapping the panel in front of it as it relayed the commands to Task Force 5. Within a solar minute, sixty-two vessels, including the Hammer of Grilk'nir, had assembled into an assault formation and were ten solar seconds away from flashing into null space.

Both hands stopped shaking, and Shelk’nir experienced an otherworldly calm come over it as it watched the null space counter reach zero. A momentary disorientation hit it, and suddenly they were amidst the Balrikan fleet, the battle AI already firing their weapons.

“Pad-Lon, find me a ship with a mass driver and coordinate with the weapons station.” The elder called out, and Shelk’nir quickly updated the targeting preferences of the scanners, finding a heavy cruiser located 16,000 likals off the port bow.

The Balrikan heavy cruiser was recharging its rails, and Shelk’nir and the weapons officer coordinated their assault on their panels.

The battleship surged forward as it veered to port and headed directly towards the target, shrugging off repeated hits as it was fired on by nearby Balrikan ships.

The Balrikans had recovered from the sudden appearance of the Federation ships among them, and now the battleship was being targeted by at least a dozen vessels as it continued closing with the unsuspecting heavy cruiser.

Multiple alarms were going off, and Shelk’nir focused on directing the damage control teams to where they were needed as multiple hull breaches formed where the advanced composite armor had failed under the Balrikan onslaught.

The weapons officer finally had a clear shot and activated the dual particle accelerator array located under the bow, and Shelk’nir watched as the two invisible beams smashed into the starboard side of the heavy cruiser and punched right through its hull, hitting another Balrikan ship that was next to it.

“Find me another target! The elder roared, its voice filled with rage. The elder is bloodlusted, Shelk’nir thought to itself as it located a nearby Balrikan battleship that was almost finished charging its mass driver.

Forwarding the coordinates to the weapons officer, Shelk’nir resumed directing damage control teams to the most critical points on the Hammer as the ship continued to be pummeled by enemy vessels.

“Steady on, my valiant crew. We will not emerge from this with our lives, and I will be honored to have you all at my side when we face the Creator.” The elder called out, its voice husky with emotion.

Shelk’nir sat up a little straighter, pride coursing through its veins at the defiant words of the elder as the Hammer continued to charge through the Balrikan ships, delivering death and destruction to the hateful creatures all around it.

They were now within 10,000 likals of the targeted battleship, and Dil-Son Kenth’dir fired the recharged bow dual particle accelerators, hitting the aft section of the enemy ship and tearing off the quad engine assembly before pivoting the ship and presenting the starboard weapons array.

Six secondary particle beam cannons emerged from within the hull as their armored hatches slid to the side, and all six fired at the same time, slicing through the drifting battleship. It hung there for a few solar seconds as its lights flickered before vanishing in the fury of a fusion core overload.

The elder called out for another target to be found. Shelk’nir had already found one and was just about to forward the coordinates to the weapons officer when the Hammer was struck with an extremely powerful concentrated volley from almost twenty enemy ships.

The bridge lights went out, and Shelk’nir felt the gravity generators lose power, barely able to activate the seat harness in time when another violent barrage of weaponry hit the ship, causing multiple bridge crew members to be ejected from their seats in the sudden microgravity.

There was a sickening crunching sound behind it, and Shelk’nir craned its neck to look back as the harness restricted its movements. The emergency lighting came on, the dim blue lights casting an eerie glow. Shelk'nir blinked rapidly as its eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and saw the source of the crunching sound,

The elder had been thrown from the command chair, and its skull had turned into an unrecognizable pulp of flesh after the elder’s head smashed into a nearby bridge support pylon.

The ship was hit again, and there was a terrifying groaning sound from deep within the ship before a resounding cracking sound echoed through the ship. It was the loudest noise Shelk'nir had ever heard, and the ship lurched as if it lost half of its mass. The battle AI came over the speakers, stuttering as it tried to finish resetting itself.

~Brea-Breach warn-warning. Please activate voi-void measures. ~ A shrill alarm accentuated the AI's warning, and Shelk’nir yanked on a small handle hanging off its right shoulder.

There was a hissing sound, and Shelk’nir expelled its breath as the clear nano-polycarbonate void helmet finished assembling around its skull.

Just as the helmet fully encapsulated its head, there was a massive rush of atmosphere exiting the opened bridge hatch before it slammed shut.

Deactivating the harness, Shelk’nir pushed off its chair and drifted to the command chair, studiously avoiding looking at the elder’s corpse as it drifted by, small droplets of yellow blood trailing the body.

Shelk’nir reached the chair and activated the harness system before accessing the holographic control panel to see the damage report.

The battleship had snapped in half when the spinal support column was hit by a barrage of close-range particle beams, and Shelk'nir now knew what the terrible groaning and cracking sound had been.

The aft section was drifting away from the bow section, and Shelk’nir tried to access the weapons systems to continue firing. The weapons system was down, as was almost every other critical system.

The internal sensors indicated that there were almost three hundred life signs in the bow section, and Shelk’nir was just about to toggle the evacuation alarm when it remembered what would happen to the crew if they abandoned ship.

The Balrikans would either target and destroy the escape pods, or they would capture them and brutally torture the prisoners for recreation, broadcasting the sessions like they had done when capturing Federation prisoners after the first battles.

Accessing a sub-menu, Shelk’nir found the scuttling program and activated it, crash-starting the miniature fusion reactors that were placed throughout the ship as scuttling charges. It would take 120 solar seconds for the charges to go off, and Shelk’nir reached for the spinal tap port at the base of its skull.

Using a fingernail, Shelk’nir pried open a small section of the port, and a small cable emerged. Pulling the cable out and around to the front of its body, Shelk’nir plugged it into a receptacle on the arm of the command chair and started transferring its backup files and memory engrams to the bridge log.

After fifteen seconds, the download was completed, and Shelk’nir looked around the bridge, seeing that the two other bridge survivors were doing the same thing. He looked at them both, seeing the courageous resignation in their eyes as they bravely awaited their deaths.

The Balrikans had stopped firing on the Hammer, and a small smile came to its lips as it saw on the flickering viewer two nearby enemy heavy cruisers shoot out towing cables and attach them to the broken hull of the bow section. Shelk'nir ejected the bridge log and resumed looking at the viewer.

The Hammer will take those two ships out with it when it self-destructs, and Shelk'nir felt its smile widen at the thought.

The countdown passed ten solar seconds, and Shelk’nir closed its eyes and thought of its mate before marveling at the fact that neither of its hands were shaking as the scuttling charges activated and sent it to the Creator.

Ominian System

Automated Border Outpost 1D-25

1,893 light years from Earth, 2175 A.D.

Ray woke up, gasping for breath as he pulled the engrammatic transfer wires away from his skull. His face was wet from tears, and he started sobbing uncontrollably as he put his head in his trembling hands.

“I apologize for the traumatic experience you are undergoing, my human child.” Hreth’nir stated quietly as it stood to the side, waiting for Ray to regain control after the memory engram transfer procedure.

Ray heard the Ma’lit, and after a little while, he was able to get control of himself. He swung his feet around and got off the transfer table, his legs shaking unsteadily. “Thank you, Honored Elder. I think I am okay now, and you did warn me that it would be a difficult experience.”

An android appeared with a glass vessel filled with water, and Ray took the water gratefully and drank it before thanking the android. He started walking unsteadily towards a nearby sitting bench and plopped himself into it wearily.

He looked at the sensor lenses on the Ma’lit exosuit as it crouched down and waited for him to speak.

“That was intense. I felt every emotion and every thought of Shelk’nir. I was Shelk’nir, and when it died, I died too; it felt like.” After a pause, Ray asked another question.

"Did they win the battle?"

The Ma’lit responded. "They did, at a great cost. Now you understand the coming threat and the type of adversary we will face when they finally arrive.”

Ray nodded, terrified of the sheer viciousness displayed by the Balrikans. “When do you think they will come? I wonder if they are the same enemy that the Insectoid queen spoke of.”

“I am almost certain they are one and the same, my human child. As to when, I do not know, but I feel it has been too long already.” The Ma’lit responded.

Ray wanted an answer to a question he had not worked up the courage to ask yet. He put a hand up.

“Honored Elder, why did you not destroy the enemy entirely? Allowing them to survive to only come back again seems like a catastrophic error on the part of the Federation.”

After a long silence, the Ma’lit finally raised a suit hand and answered. “It wasn’t for lack of trying, my human child. Yes, we did manage to finally defeat them, but by that time, the Federation was dealing with the effects of the plague. Maybe if the Magnati and the Wan’sho had been…”

It trailed off, and Ray could feel the emotion behind the statement despite the synthesized voice of the exosuit speakers.

“What happened, Honored Elder?” Ray asked as he locked his eyes with the sensor lenses.

“If you really wish to know, you must undergo the procedure again. I am incapable of truly conveying what happened with mere words.” The Ma’lit answered after raising a suit hand.

Ray looked towards the table he had gotten off, and he inwardly shuddered at the thought of experiencing it again. After a long moment, he steeled himself and got off the sitting bench. He walked over to the table and laid back down on it, reapplying the engrammatic wiring to his skull.

“I am ready, Honored Elder.” He called out, trying to hide the apprehension and fear he was experiencing as he stared at the dull white ceiling above him.

The Ma’lit exosuit walked back to the table and leaned over him. He could see the sensor lenses focusing on his face before it spoke.

“You truly are worthy inheritors of the Magnati, my brave human child.”

Ray thought he detected a measure of pride in the words of the Ma’lit before closing his eyes and preparing himself for another session.