The Destroyers Book 3 Civil WarChapter 9 Battle for SOL Part one
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American Fleet
The Abraham Lincoln turned and started firing into the weakened shields of the Washington. Suddenly the shields failed and explosions detonated from the side of the massive ship. Admiral Callaghan grinned as he watched the ship heave as a dozen antimatter rounds slammed into the side of the battleship and half her weapons went down.
"Keep hitting them. Blow those bastards away!" Mathew said with glee in his voice.
"I am sir, do you want me to pull their teeth so we can board or just destroy her?" Commodore Jeff Jones asked from his station.
"Destroy her."
"Sir, weapons are offline," shouted Lieutenant Sonja Anderson.
"Engines offline," came from the engineering station.
"Sensors are down," came from Commander Basket from the sensor station.
"Sir I have reports from throughout the ship. Weapons, shields, everything is going off line and won't reboot ... wait a second, weapons are online. OH MY GOD!" Commodore Jeff Jones said as he looked at the main screen that changed to show two destroyers.
The American battleship Abraham Lincoln turned and fired one massive barrage at the destroyers.
Aboard USS Gerald Ford, the crew was going about their duties as they fired into the two assault cruisers. Their shields were glowing bright white from all the antimatter that was hitting her as she was forced to fire into both ships. With one of the cruisers on each side of her, she was not able to concentrate her full power on just one target.
Captain Andy Hebert watched the two cruisers that had been identified as the Orca and Grizzly. The ship gave a lurch as a quadrant of his shields failed and a pulse laser slammed into the bridge tower above him. Alarms sounded and he glanced at the damage control board he had up on his secondary screen. His quarters were flashing bright red and he knew his cat was dead.
"Son of a bitch! I have had enough of this. All guns target the Orca and blow her away," Andy snarled in anger.
"Yes ... Sir, weapons down," came the shocking report from Ensign Wilma Waymen.
"Shields down," replied the engineer officer, and he continued, power going down throughout the ship.
"The enemy has stopped firing," shouted Lieutenant Hanson form sensors.
"What the hell is going on?" Andy shouted and continued, "get everything back online."
Federation Fleet
The Yamato had latched onto the USS Jimmy Carter and the USS Ronald Regan. All three battleships were aglow in antimatter explosions. So blinding was the glare that even the sensors couldn't see the three ships and then the glare went out and all three ships sat there in space.
Aboard the Yamato, Anya looked over at Nancy and started to ask what was going on when she blinked out. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the weapons station and tried to bring the weapons back online. Pounding the holographic display board she shouted, "What is going on?"
American Fleet
The USS Harry S Truman was heading out system with her bridge crew dead when her engines went off line and her bow thrusters fired and she came to a dead stop. Around the ship, the crew initiated repairs, and tried to get the ship back into the fight. Every time they brought a system online, it went down again.
Captain Isaiah Rosenberg of the USS John F. Kennedy got to his feet as the lights went off on the bridge and the emergency ones came online.
"What happened?" Isaiah asked.
"Sir, everything is offline, and I mean everything. Weapons, sensors, shields, engines, the only thing we have is environmental and life support," Commander James Madison reported.
"Shit, well get damage control working on it. Find out what the hell is going on."
"I am ... Sir, the Lincoln is firing."
Across the battle zone, the USS Abraham Lincoln fired her main weapons at the American ships Fletcher and Aaron Ward. The firepower of the huge ship ripped into the sterns of the two destroyers and their engines blew up as they were caught by surprise.
Federation Fleet
"Sir, the Yamato, Orca, Grizzly and America are all dead in space," Jessica reported.
Ken turned to look at Jessica to ask her a question when she vanished, and all powered systems on the bridge went out.
"What the hell?" Ken asked as he stood up, and continued, "Where the hell is Jessica?"
"Sir, engines and sensors just went off line," Stella Salaneo reported.
"Weapons off line," Lieutenant Sherry Days reported from the weapons station.
"Well, get them back online, we have a battle to win," Ken said as he watched the enemy battleship floating less than a thousand miles off his damaged bow.
"Sir, report from the main bridge. Amy is missing as well," Aiko reported from CIC.
Ken's eyes went wide at this news. Then it hit him, as the regulations went through his mind, and he sat down hard in his chair.
Court
They sat at a white horseshoe table. Everything was white, the floor, ceiling and the walls, except for the blue banner with a red and orange starburst on it. Across the bottom in Latin was 'Ex Terra ut Astrum, Nos Es Unus Populus' or in Federation common 'From Terra to the Stars, We Are One People'.
The head chair was empty and then a beautiful brown haired girl appeared.
Commander Sandi O'Donald appeared in the center seat and looked at her companion interfaces, and said, "Bring in the accused."
Commander Cassandra Towers appeared in the room. Her long brown hair hung down her back in a French braid. Looking around she said, "What's going on? Why am I here?"
"Commander Towers. You are charged under Article 16 subsection 21 paragraph 9 of Federation Law. You have been charged with one count of attacking ships crewed by humans. How do you plead?" replied Commander O'Donald.
Amy staggered back and looked at the seven people, her mouth opened and the closed.
"Commander Towers, I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" Sandi said as she stood up and looked at the young woman in front of her.
"I... " Amy cleared her throat and came to attentions, and continued, "I plead not guilty."
Sandi picked up the gavel and smacked the table.
"So be it. Let the trial begin. Lieutenant Jonathan Cutter will defend you," she said as she gestured to the young man at the end of the horseshoe table on the left.
Amy nodded her head to the young man that would be defending her, "Thank you Lieutenant Cutter.
"You're welcome Commander."
Sitting down Sandi looked at the AI at the end of the table to the right and said, "Lieutenant Cindy O'Bannon you may begin."
Standing up the fourteen year old looked at the court and said, "Your honors, I present the following sensor evidence against Commander Towers."
A video screen appeared and showed Amy standing on the main bridge watching as the USS Washington fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln. Explosions detonated across the hull as antimatter warheads slammed into the ship and on a secondary screen showed the casualty count of ninety-seven dead and three hundred wounded. Then the scene changed and the Washington turned on her side and fired into the USS Barton and she exploded into oblivion and sixteen hundred humans died.
"As you can clearly see, Commander Towers stood by and allowed Federation personnel to fire on another human crewed ship and killed seventeen hundred humans. I ask the court to find her guilty of murder and sentence her to death. That's all the evidence I need to produce for this court. Thank you," Lieutenant O'Bannon said as she sat down.
"Lieutenant Cutter you may begin," Sandi said.
"Thank you your honor," Jonathan said as he turned to Commander Towers, "Commander, why was your ship, a flagship of the Federation, firing on a human crewed ship?"
"Because they were manned by a crew from the United States who have declared war on the Federation, and..."
"Irrelevant your honor," Lieutenant O'Bannon said.
"No it isn't your honor. It goes to the root of the charges."
Sandi leaned back and thought of what the two interfaces were saying, deep down she understood what was happing but the law was the law. And the law said 'that the Federation Navy shall not attack any human crew ship or colony'.
"Let's continue, I will decide as we go," Sandi said.
"Your honor," Lieutenant O'Bannon said as she stood up.
"I said, 'I will decide after the evidence is in.' Let me get more information. Now, let's continue."
"Yes, your honor," both lieutenants said.
Jonathan turned back to Commander Towers and continued, "Commander Towers, you say they declared war on you. Do you have a declaration of war from the United States of America?"
"Do I have access to the Washington's memory banks?" Amy asked.
"Yes you do," Sandi said.
"Thank you. Please show what happened two weeks ago on Space Dock One, 7 pm in recreation hall three."
The screen changed to show the party and then the murder of all the Federation personal. As the time flowed, she advanced the screen to show the President of the United States spitting on two corpses and his words ordering the death of many more Federation Personal.
"Your honor, these murders were a takeover plot hatched by the President of the United States, and Federation Admiral Kevin Farragut to destroy the Federation."
"Irrelevant your honor," Lieutenant O'Bannon said.
Amy turned on the young girl and shouted at her, "They are not irrelevant, this Federation is a fledgling compared to the one we come from. As it is, Admiral Thompson has already started changing our laws to what he thinks are better laws."
"Admiral Thompson will stand trial later, right now you better think of yourself and not him," Sandi said.
"For what? He is the highest ranking officer we have," Amy snapped.
"Commander, control yourself or you will be muzzled. Admiral Thompson is military, not civilian. He cannot change our laws. He holds no seat on the council..."
"There is no council, and we are under martial law, until an election can be held," Amy said as she regained her composure.
Laura O'Bannon leaned forward and said, "What Martial Law?"
"Admiral Thompson declared martial law until the T'Lari and the Crytherian menace can be stopped."
"When did he declare this?"
"Just before we left for Karsakini to free the millions of humans taken as slaves, who even at this time five million of them are on their way home," Amy said.
"By Galanuisa (fuck) that hurts," said Jamie O'Bannon as she grabbed her head and vanished.
Suddenly all the Interfaces vanished.
They sat at a white horseshoe table. Everything was white, the floor ceiling and the walls except for the blue banner with a red and orange starburst on it. Across the bottom in Latin was 'Ex Terra ut Astrum, Nos Es Unus Populus' or in Federation common 'From Terra to the Stars, We Are One People'.
The head chair was empty and then a beautiful brown haired girl appeared.
Commander Sandi O'Donald appeared in the center seat and looked at her companion interfaces, and said, "Bring in the accused."
Jessica appeared in the room and looked at the seven people sitting in white uniforms, and said, "Who the flying fuck are you?"
"Commander Windsor, you are out of line," Sandi said.
"Fuck you, its Thompson. Jessica Windsor's is dead. She has been dead for a long time," Jessica snapped back.
"All right, Mrs. Thompson ... if that is how you want to be known ... you are charged under Article 16 subsection 21 paragraph 9 of Federation Law. You have been charged with one count of attacking ships crewed by humans. How do you plead?" replied Commander O'Donald.
Jessica looked at the woman and snarled, "Go fuck yourself."
Closing her eyes she felt the block on returning to her ship and then felt someone trying to get at her mind and her eyes snapped open.
Jamie tried to force the young woman to stay and staggered back as she was thrust out of her mind, opening her eyes she saw Jessica looking right at her. Her bright green eyes were now blood red and she felt her mind being overwhelmed with such hate that it was all she could do to keep her form in the courtroom. Then Jessica's blue dress shimmered and changed to blood red.
"Get the fuck out of my mind or I will show you such horror and pain you will wish you were dead," Jessica snapped and then she started to fade away when six more minds assaulted her and she turned and unleashed twenty-two hundred years of torture onto them and they recoiled from her.
One after the other they vanished until just Commander Sandi O'Donald stood facing her, taking every ounce of torture the young woman could throw at her and then she started her attack. Throwing back at her the same number of years of living in a nightmare trapped in a damaged capsule. Not even knowing she was alive because of her injuries.
"I raise you your torture with mine," Sandi said and unleashed her nightmare on Jessica.
Jessica twitched as her attack was blunted and staggered from the girl's nightmare of being trapped in a damaged capsule. Shaking it of they stood there staring at each other, "That's nothing. Trying having your skin being peeled off inch by inch and told it's only in your mind."
Jessica then threw the woman in front of her in to Ambassador Riga's torture room and let her have what she had done with her. She watched as he used an old blowtorch on her fingertips and slowly roasted the skin away. He then picked up an ancient scalpel from the twentieth century and started cutting strips of her skin away making her scream in pain.
Mikohn leaned in and whispered, "It's all in your mind, there is no pain."
Sandi started screaming as he cut her nipples away and then whimpering in pain, as she muttered, "Jessica, please stop it. I beg you." She then screamed in a high pitch as the knife went to her clit and he spoke again.
"Tell me dear, do you know what a Clitoridectomy is?" Mikohn said as he sneered at her.
Sandi's mind raced as she took in what he was saying and then she screamed even louder for Jessica. "No please not that. I surrender, no more Jessica," she cried out as she closed her eyes.
Jessica released her sister interface and vanished as she said, "Leave me and mine alone."
Federation Fleet
Ken was pacing the deck as the crew tried to get the ship to start answering their commands. Looking at the American battleship just drifting there his fingers itched to blow it away.
Federation Fleet Day 5 of conflict The Federation cruiser USS Atlanta LCAM 2 followed behind her sister ship the San Juan as they curled inward towards the Earth and the space docks. Three destroyers led the column with three destroyers behind them. They were nine million three hundred thousand miles from the captured space docks, and closing. Captain Joan Whitman sat in her command chair, taking a sip of her coffee. On the view screen, she could make out the landing bay of the San Juan as...
Mars Base: Federation Side Thirteen-year-old Mitchell Young sat back from his computer screen, looked at the final design of the APES, and watched the simulation run. Within seconds, they had devastated a unit of T'Lari warriors. Reaching over to the keypad, he typed in a few commands and watched the T'Lari change to battle Mechs and it took a little bit longer but they were able to wipe out the twenty Mechs for the loss of only five of the APES. With a grin, he said, "It's going to...
The shuttle gently set down next to the airlock. A small gantry extended from the ship to the airlock, and gently locked onto the side of the huge station. Down on the assault deck, Chief Engineer Cory Hill got up, and went to the airlock. He checked the hatch, and seeing the seal showed a tight fit he waited for the air to build up and the lights to come on. Activating his com unit, he called the captain. "Captain, I have a green light on the hatch, and airlock is pressurizing...
Philadelphia: 11:50 A.M. Tim let Amy cry in his arms as he held the woman who brought hope to a lot of people of this world. So she went overboard and took justice in her hands. He thought it was worth it as far as he was concerned. He felt Amy gently push on him so he released her. "Feeling better?" he asked. "Yeah, I am. Thank you, Tim," Amy replied. "Good, what are your orders?" Tim asked. Amy laughed and replied, "Tim you out rank me. I'm only a commander while...
Mars Base: Brigadier General Mark Anthon was a beaten man. He stood with his men in the giant hanger. Guards stood around the nine hundred officers and men. As force fields kept them in the enclosure, he looked over at his second in command who was glaring daggers at him. "Colonel Wright, I had no choice but to surrender. They were wiping us out," Mark said as he sipped his coffee. "Sir, with all due respect, my infantry could have taken this base. You have failed..." "Colonel James...
05:30 Pluto, Base Station Elysian, 1-14-05 Ken watched the fleet approach the huge dry dock. The ships were spreading out for the docking arms as he turned and looked at his wife Tammy who was giving her fleet orders. "Helm. All ahead, slow. Starboard thrusters, minimum fire, in three ... two ... one ... engage," Tammy said as she sat in the command chair. "Firing thrusters, Ma'am," replied Commander Stella Salaneo. The huge ship slowly slid down the length of the gantry until it was...
Captured Space Docks Admiral Farragut froze when the round blew the com unit apart, which was built into his desk. He looked at his assailant. Before he could say anything or move, a dart slammed into his chest, and he flew out of his chair and crashed to the floor. Walking over to the man, the figure knelt beside him, and bound his hands and feet. Pulling out a scanner, the person scanned the man and found his locator beacon. With a quick tapping of keys, the scanner shut the beacon down....
Amy appeared on the bridge deck, and quickly reacted to the damage. Activating the tractor beams, she reached out and latched onto the crew. Only two were sucked out, as internal forcefields she had installed snapped on and covered the openings. Activating her communications system, she issued her orders. "This is Amy, I need medical teams to the main bridge we have casualties." Walking around the room, she checked each crewmember and finally knelt by her sister-wife. "Tammy, please...
Federation Fleet The Washington led her fleet towards the captured Space Docks where they circled the Earth, at five hundred thousand miles. Ken stood on the flag bridge with his wives and watched the American ships maneuvering in front of them. "Admiral, the American fleet is joining up. They have fifteen destroyers and four light cruisers," Lieutenant Jinnah Chin reported. "Thank you lieutenant, we will stick with the plan," Admiral Tammy Thompson said. "Yes, Ma'am. I am sending...
Captured Crytherian Space Dock Captain Sammy O'Rourke-Anderson watched as the twenty spider bots continued to build the small ship. It was now over eighty percent completed. Walking to the door, she looked out into the hall and saw it was still clear. "Come on Kevin, get your ass back here," Sammy snarled as she heard a clang behind her. Shutting the hatch, she walked back to the dock and watched the spiders lift a section of the black hull up to the side of the ship and fasten it to the...
Ted staggered to his feet, smoke pouring from several consoles around the bridge, sitting down into his chair he snapped out orders, "Damage report!" "Sir, we have a fire in landing bay delta, damage to port side weaponry, shields down to forty percent. I'm estimating ten minutes to full recharge, minor damage to secondary engine four. Hull is intact, no breaches. Casualty report coming in now, thirty-nine dead, sixteen wounded." "Status report on the Crytherian battleship?" Ensign...
Ken stood on the flag bridge of the Washington, and looked at the holomap. The Oregon was five hundred miles to his portside. The destroyers Bulldog, Boxer and Doberman were in an arrow formation directly ahead of the two battleships. Behind the flagship, the remaining ships of the fleet stretched out to their individual time drops. The last ones were the hospital ships, while directly behind him were the assault cruisers. Worried about what was going to happen, Ken chewed on his cigar. So...
Washington DC Twenty-four hours before the attack on the docks, several congressional representatives and senators were having a small poker party at one of the member's houses. Tony Garcia, a Representative from the State of New Mexico was just reaching for the next card when the front door was kicked in. Standing in the doorway was a man in a camouflage uniform that seemed to shimmer as he stood there. "What..." is all he got out when he was flipped out of the chair by the needler...
American Space Navy Near Space Dock One: 1-17-05, 11:29 A.M. American battle cruiser America Captain Richard Potter watched the Federation cruiser he was firing on, her shields had collapsed and now internal explosions were ripping through her hull. He knew that inside it was becoming a death trap and with the ship crippled he made his decision. "Ensign Wilcox, break lock, and target the next ship," he said as he watched two heavy cruisers coming to the Federation ship's rescue. Ensign...
The Federation battleship USS Washington: 1:50 P.M. Jessica handled the ship as though she was born to do it. The ship was shrugging off the enemy fire and her weapons were firing at the Washington D.C. shield trying to take it down. Turning her head she smiled at her husband and wife as the status reports came in from the fleet. "Enemy shield down to 36% power," reported Lieutenant Akiko Fujimoto. "Thanks, Akiko. Keep up the pressure," Tammy said just as Jessica screamed and the ship...
Ken jerked his head around to the main tactical screen. "To all ships! Red alert! All hands man your battlestations!" Ken ordered. He turned and walked quickly to the main CIC panel. He looked at the hyper wake coming in. "Estimated time of arrival?" "Six minutes, Sir," replied the sensor officer. "Stack us up. I want a full broadside of weapons to bear on the targets. Launch all fighters." "Yes, Sir! Launching all fighters, stacking the ships." "Dispatch the rest of...
Ted sat there looking at the woman who had just given him a blowjob. His eyes kept wandering to her scantly clad body as she crawled up his body kissing his bare flesh as she went which caused him to moan. "You are so handsome looking! I just had to come and thank you personally for saving me and my Angel," Augusta said as she licked his nipples. She straddled his waist, and raised her green eyes to look into Ted's brown ones that were wide, as if he was a deer caught in the lights of a...
Sammy heard the girl cry out, and her eyes locked on the falling container. Her eyes followed the rope up over the beam, and down to the floor. She saw the man being jerked up. Whipping her battle-axe up and over her shoulder, she hurled the flaming blade, and watched it spin as the man began to fly up into the air. The blade spun through the air, twirling over and over. It hit the rope, and the titanium blade sliced through its weaves like butter. The battle-axe then slammed into the wall,...
"Show me this ship," snarled Captain Tal. The screen changed and a ship that was five times larger than their own appeared on the screen. Her white hull was gleaming and her navigational lights were lit up. She was less then five miles away from his command. Tal stood there, and looked at the huge ship; he then turned to his weapons officer, and said, "Fire on that ship! Turn us hard starboard, full speed ahead. Launch countermeasures." The Dancer opened fire with her pitiful weapons...
USS Oregon Ted ran onto the bridge and dropped into his command chair as he was shouting his orders, "Full power to weapons. Cut speed by twenty percent. Bring shields to full power, double the energy to the stern shields." "Yes, Sir, cutting speed and raising shields to full power," Lieutenant Joan Greenville at the helm station said as her fingers flew over the console in front of her. Lieutenant Betty Jenson over at the port weapons station shouted, "Portside weapons online and...
DMZ, Korean Peninsula: 1-17-05, 05:19 A.M. Sojang (Major-General) Hyun Li raised his binoculars and looked across the DMZ at the American and South Korean forces, as the sun slowly rose over the landscape. Picking up the phone, he gave the order he had been waiting for thirty years, to give. "Fire." Up and down the DMZ, eight thousand artillery pieces and twenty-four hundred multiple missile launchers raised their barrels from hidden weapon emplacements while three thousand aircraft...
Governor Kailnis watched the strange ships come down. Before he could activate his defenses, the weapons on the freighter blew them away. "Order up the guard! We need to stop these invaders, send orders to the fleet to get us help..." an explosion stopped what he was saying and he turned his head and saw one of the armored hover cars explode as a giant war machine came in sight, and he continued, "Destroy that thing." Heavy laser cannons opened up from the top of the defense wall and...
Taiwan Straits 1-16-05 21:30 PM Admiral Fu Kwan raised his glasses, looked out into the darkness, and waited. Zhoushan was several hours behind them. He took a quick look around his ship; the invasion fleet of over one hundred warships of the Peoples Liberation Navy was heading for the main Port of Taichung. They were carrying over thirty thousand troops to invade the island of Taiwan and settle this foolishness of joining this so called Federation. The missile destroyer Guangzhou turned a...
Federation side Lisa started hurling Crytherian warriors around the ship as she directed the Marines to their positions. Several had broken into one of the dormitories she had set up for the evacuees from Tau Ceti and were now holding ninety hostages. Ted's body still lay under the huge Crytherian warrior as the ships Marines having seen Ted go down, had gone ballistic, sacrificing their own lives to stem the flow of the invaders as more tried to get in. At last count, three hundred of them...
Captain John Stratton was fuming; ever since they had been brought onboard, they have been ignored. Walking back and forth in front of his men, he went over to the door and pounded on it some more. "Hey out there, I want to talk to whoever is in charge." Lieutenant Michael McCall sat in one of the chairs, watching his commanding officer pace. He called to him, "John!" Getting no response, he tried again, "Hey Iceman, calm down, they will get to us when they can. You heard the intercom....
President Thomas Kincaide was sitting down to his breakfast with his wife, when his chief of staff came into the dining room. "Mr. President, we have a situation out in Las Vegas, it seems a large ship was sighted taking off from somewhere in Northern Arizona. Nellis AFB dispatched five F-16s to investigate it. The tower was in contact with the planes when suddenly all communications was cut off. Nellis dispatched an additional ten more planes to the area, but nothing has been found of the...
POW CAMP 2 1-14-05 Thirty-nine year old Sergeant Sandra MacEwen looked out at the barbed wire as the five men digging the grave for Captain Vickie Tamping, the young Canadian woman who was taken on Space Dock Two leading a small unit of guerrillas against the American forces. She had been wounded when she was brought in and they never gave her any of the advanced medical they had captured. Sandra's eyes floated over the three thousand wooden crosses and cringed as she remembered the first...
10:20 Central LA, California, 1-14-05 Mark 'Hoover' Mathews looked up from his bunker behind two wrecked tractor-trailers. In the distance, the AH-1 Cobra still burned from where his stinger had taken the Marine helicopter down. Around him were the rest of his brothers from the local Blood gang. "Hey Hoover, did you hear what the man in power did to those cities up the state?" asked Vince 'Snakeman' Anderson. "Ya, I heard Snakeman, but we shall kick whities ass out of LA and then we...
"Fuck! The Admiral is going to be pissed," Captain Mike Bonnet of the USS Badger said. "I know, and I am going to have to tell him. It's my responsibility. As to your Mechs and Marines, the ship has been cleared of all Crytherians. Anyone left alive is outside and fair game. If you can get your Mechs to create a safe zone for us, I will get all my spiders initiating emergency repairs to get us back into space," turning he looked at Lisa and asked, "Lisa, how long until we get repairs...
Richard snarled in anger as he stood up, shaking his hand he looked at the woman. "I'm going to rip your head off," he said as he charged the woman. Jerri dodged the man's clumsy attack and grasped his wounded hand. Turning she slammed him into the wall where he bounced off. Moving quickly, Richard jumped on the woman and grasped her in a bear hug. "Got you now bitch," he growled out. Laughing, Jerri replied, "You think so? Do your worst." Suddenly she screamed out in agony and...
Molly dropped to her knees beside Ken as the rest of her medical staff arrived, checking the wound she saw the blade had cut deeply in to the stomach between the esophagus and the duodenum. "Crap, this wound is bad, Nancy how about the side." Nancy Ortiz was examining the stab wound in Ken's side; it was a clean in and out. Grabbing her medical pad, she started scanning him. "I think his lung has been nicked, but I am not sure. Yet!" Nancy waited for the scanner to finish the scan,...
Fold Space, the USS HOPE Sammy grunted as she landed on her back. Rolling over, she scrambled to her feet as Kevin came in low, the knife blade held along his right forearm. His arm came in, and her arm came up with her blade. They clanged together as the palm of her hand slammed into his chest, and Kevin flew back from her. "Got yeah!" Sammy said as she turned and kicked with her left foot. She felt her foot being grabbed, and she went flying as Kevin spun her around, and she hit the mat...
Ken sat and listened to Amy, and then turned to the others. "First, I think we need to catch this psychopath before he kills his next victim. We have to do it. Then, we should get the Washington back up into space. After that, we need to recruit a crew," turning back to Amy he added, "I just thought of something. Do you have to be at the asteroid belt for your spider bots to build? And if not, is there a way we can get the spider bots there, quickly?" "Yes, we could use a shuttle and...
Presidential One 2:20 pm Tina looked at the scanners of the ship as American fighters came in from all angles and opened fired on her. With her com open she screamed, "FUCK! I'M UNDER ATTACK!" as she started banking the craft trying to avoid the enemy fighters. The shields sensors screamed out their warnings as they were plastered from thirty different points of attack. Tina reacted quickly and fired her main weapons and blew two Lightning class fighters to shreds. Doing a quick loop,...
"I was critically injured when I came to Ashley's rescue. A squad of American's was in the process of raping her. I killed them all, but they injured me badly. I woke up in a capsule. It seems Commander Sandi O'Donald heard Ashley crying and arrived in time. Her husband, Doctor Marcus Wild, was summoned. She had the replicators form a capsule for me. Doctor Marcus arrived just as the bed was finished, and got me up inside it. I have spent the last three weeks healing, inside, while my...
Onboard the Ex-Crytherian mining freighter Hathor, William Odessa led his party of former escapees down the narrow hallway he had found. The air smelled of stale sweat and death, water dripped from one of the overhead pipes in at least a dozen places. One of the electrical panels buzzed as if it had a short and they stayed away from it. Looking at the map he had made, he knew they were getting close as they turned the corner. Up ahead, he could see the bulkhead door. Going up to it, he...
Flag Bridge, USS Washington 15:10 hours, 2-05-05 Ken felt the grief building up in his body when a hand gently gripped his shoulder. Looking up into the eyes of Kalaria he smiled sadly as he thought of his best friend. They had grown up together, did everything together; they even dated and married each other's sister. "Commander Chu, please send us your mission logs for review, and welcome home. At this time, I want you to assume command of the Oregon as her captain," Tammy said as she...
Sol System USS Washington Ken stood there looking at the young woman who bowed her head to him. Walking towards her, his mind raced with what she had done to Amy and the other interfaces. But, after reading their mandate that was initiated when they were created, he now knew more of what she was talking about. Once they became an interface they were under the jurisdiction of the Interface council. Sandy, being the oldest, became the highest judge of the council. Stopping in front of the...
Sol Hub positioned right at the edge of the so-called heliopause. Almost exactly one lightyear from the actual star at the center of this system. As star systems went, this one was without question one of the most important. While every rock and floating pebble big enough to put a boot on was occupied or utilized. It was all about the third planet; by all accounts, he heard, one of the most beautiful and perfect garden worlds in existence, with a rich diversity of climates and life forms....
Six weeks later, Ken sat at his desk going through Captain Windsor's logs. He was looking for the clues he suspected were there. "Tammy, it says here, that the Washington was split in half at the battle of Tallis. When she was rebuilt, she was two hundred feet longer than before. I think that is where Jessica is; I think she is in that area. We have been over everything else. Amy, please bring up a pair of holograms of the ship as she used to look and as how she looks now." The image...
Sol Springs Eternal lazed in the early morning sunshine as Sheriff Blondy Beach rode slowly into town; he and his horse coated in the dust of a long hard trail. Wearily the sheriff climbed out of the saddle and tied his horse to the hitching rail next to a horse trough. "There you go Skippy you beaut, get your face into that. I'll be doing the same in a tick of a kookaburra's tit." He brushed dust off himself as he went through the bat wing door of the Sol Saloon. "Starve the crows!" he...
The sounds of Sonny Rollins drifted though the room as Lisa sat at the table, reading her medical books. Sitting beside her was a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. Cheri was playing with her squeaky toy. Lisa rubbed her head trying to get rid of her headache that has been bothering her for three days. Suddenly she snapped at the dachshund, "Cheri! Stop squeaking that damned thing." Under the coffee table, Cheri dropped her toy and whimpered. Turning around, her...
She stood there and watched the four friends hug each other, and talk. She moved around the room and sat in one of the chairs. She studied each one, and listened as they talked about the fall. The one she had saved, Ken, was tall and handsome. He projected an aura of possible command material. The other male, jumped right in, and took over. He showed confidence and determination, a possible recruit as a Marine. The one, who carried her sensor crystal, had a quick mind, and a sharp eye. She...
Amy paced through the medical ward aboard the ship, while the spiders continued their maintenance. Down in the main cavern, the spiders scurried about the cavern, and over two gantries as they worked. Amy did a quick check and saw all systems were a go. She walked over to Ken and looked down at his peaceful face. She leaned down through the force field and kissed him, and tapped into Ken's nanobots. She was regretting what she had to do, but knew that she must. For they all needed to learn...
Commodore Thompson stood there issuing orders to the crew of the Oregon. "Lieutenant I want to know what is going on. Who authorized the launching of those mech lifters?" On the screen, lifter after lifter was dropping out of the bay and heading north. "How many mechs?" Lieutenant Commander Shawn Edwards looked at the Commodore and replied, "Sir, I don't know. All I know is that the red alert went off in the mech bay, and then three wings of mechs or thirty mechs loaded up and left...
Ted walked down the hallway, passing people who were being guided out of the medical bays, and were being lead back down to the shuttles. Passing a side passageway, he started to head into medical when he heard the crying. Turning around, he saw a brown haired girl sitting against the wall. Her dress was slightly dirty, and her knees were pressed tightly to her chest as she rocked. Walking over, he saw she was about eight years old. Kneeling beside her, he said, "Hi, I'm Ted. Are you...
After talking for an hour, everyone turned in and got some sleep. While they slept, Amy watched over them, by making an image of herself appear in each room. Sitting in a chair, she watched them sleep, and sighed with contentment. A crew, at last! It had been so long since she'd had anyone on board that she could talk with. She then went back to examining their plans about using the mech warriors as ground assault vehicles. She took what information she could find on the computer game (and...
Ken stood in his office. With the forward wall pulled back, he could look out over the bow of the great ship. In the distance, the Oregon, along with three destroyers, blasted chunks out of Io - one of Jupiter's larger moons - scaring the landscape as he watched the target practice taking place. Walking over to his desk, he sat down, and went over the last report from the Dachshund. They had found a strange signal emanating from the planet Pluto, and how they were trying to track it down...
Luis Fajardo looked out the picture window of downtown Bogotá Columbia. Picking up the paper, he read the article again. Slamming the paper down, he turned and looked at his companions. "Damn it! We have to stop these people from distributing these serums. They are going to give this miracle drug away free, and our product won't affect the people who use it. That will prevent them from buying from us. We need to stop them, but how? Already sales are down fifteen percent, because the...
Ken sat up on the medical bed and swung his legs over the side as Tina hugged him around the waist. Looking down at the young girl, he kissed her forehead, and said, "Thank you for saving me." Seeing the blush on her face he chuckled, and said, "And that goes for you too, Amy, wherever you are." "Right here, Sir. I was going over the logs to see what I had missed," she said as she appeared. Ken let Tina go, looking over his shoulder at Amy, and said, "Anything important, that I...
Around the system, ships started hypering out. The ships destined to stay, started recovering the injured and helpless from the explosions on Terra; while Commodore White, along with his wife Maria, begin dealing with the UN. Two weeks later, the ships dropped out of fold and reformed into their attack wings. Ken stood on the Flag Bridge, facing the main viewer. On the screen were Captain Nickolas Johansson of the Hope, and Captain Jenny Mai-ling of the Freedom Train. "Captains, good...
Molly watched her new friends drive away. When they were out of sight, she turned back to her mother. She stepped back in to her mother's arms and gave her a hug. Stopping the hug, she looked her mom in the face. "Mom, how about pizza tonight?" Kathleen looked at her baby, and she felt complete again as she realized the hole in her heart was once again filled. "What ever you want sweetie, the number for Pizza Hut is on the fridge like always." Shaking her head, she replied, "No mom,...
Va'Talki walked into the probe room. In his arms he held a struggling child that he tossed in the corner. "Don't you move," he said as he shut the door. Going over to a console built into the wall, he powered it up. The holographic board came up on the panel, and he started programming the automatic probe launcher. Pressing another control, he looked to his right, and watched as the probe launcher moved and a heavy laser battery moved into the tubes position as the iris...
Jenny hung from the wall. The pain had finally stopped and she looked around the room. Her eyes slowly focused on the only things in the room, a spider bot hanging on the far wall above the replicator and the camera in the center of the room pointed at her. Suddenly the pain started up again, and she started screaming until her voice was hoarse, and she lost control of her bladder and soiled herself. The pain stopped for a second and she started gasping for a breath. She screamed into the...
Corporal Ricker watched the T'Lari go through the dead ones, and start eating them. Within three minutes, it had cracked open a leg and sucked marrow out of the bones it found. Suddenly his com chimed in his head and he heard Tom Morris' voice. 'Corporal Ricker, this is Corporal Tom Morris. I am bringing in twenty-one survivors, one critically wounded, two KIA. Sean is one of the dead, but he went down fighting.' 'Okay, Tom. Let me take care of the T'Lari that's eating his...
Ko'Nar heard the accursed Marines coming. He stood there waiting. His knives were ready, and in the rooms on each side of the passageway, some of the Royal guard stood ready to fight. Hearing the breathing of the humans, he waited until he saw the gun, and swung his upper left arm. The knife hit his target in its eye, and it went deep into its brain. Screaming as he stepped around, he started to hack at the next human, as it pointed a strange weapon at him. The next thing he knew, he was on...
Night Skies Hotel VI: Destroyers of Worlds By Solari Author's note: "Destroyers of Worlds" is the third story in the three-part "Foundations" trilogy that shines a light on the wider Night Skies Hotel universe. The other stories in the "Foundations" trilogy are "Night Skies Hotel IV: The Lost Worlds," and "Night Skies Hotel V: Shadows on the Sun." It is recommended that the stories be read in order, or the reader risks not understanding the events that unfold. "What you consider...
Ted looked down at Shawn, and said, "Raise construction dock one, I want to talk to the Commodore Thompson in person." "Aye-aye, Captain." Turning the com on again, he said, "USS Oregon to Space Dock One." "This is dock one, Ensign Vincent Hubber speaking. How could I direct your request?" "Ensign Hubber, Captain White needs to speak with Commodore Thompson ASAP." "I will transfer you to his office." Shawn quickly replied, "Thank you." "Commodore Thompson's office, how...