The Destroyers Book 3 Civil WarChapter 5 Mars and Space
- 2 years ago
- 27
- 0
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 listened and the cracked the door to look around when he heard nothing inside. He stepped out into hallway that led to the cell area. Slipping along the wall, he peeked around the corner and saw the dozen marines relaxing while inside the thirty cells were the men they were after.
William looked over his shoulder and flashed four fingers three times to show how many guards.
Lisa watched her brother and smiled as she nodded her head. Turning she looked at the other fourteen woman and six men and held up her hand. When she saw, she had their attention, she flashed four fingers three times, and they nodded their head.
David paced the small six-foot cell and then dropped on his bed and leaned back and looked at the picture of his wife on the plastic id tag they had exchanged. He missed her dearly and kissed the picture as he curled into the wall, as he laid down in the bed. Staring at her picture, his mind wandered back a week before and the confusion of the rescue and his incarceration.
0600 December 25th 2004
Planet Karsakini
Mining station 35
David walked into the kitchen scratching his head and over to the table where he sat down. With a loud yawn, he closed his eyes and popped his neck. Opening them, he looked over at his wife and smiled warmly at her as she sat down with the large bowl.
"I love you Lori," he said as he spooned some of the mush into his bowl for breakfast.
Lori smiled as she rubbed her swollen belly and stood up. Leaning over the table, she kissed him, and whispered as they broke apart, "I love you as well and Merry Christmas, I wish we had a turkey and all the fixing for dinner. It's been so long."
"Merry Christmas to you as well, and I have something for you," David said
Standing up, he walked over to the cupboard of their quarters and slid it away from the wall. Pulling out a small package, he looked at it, and carried it over to his wife where he handed it to her.
Lori looked at David in shock and smiled as she said, "Oh David you didn't have to, and we couldn't afford anything."
"It's okay, I just have to pull a few double shifts, George made it for me."
Lori opened the package with trembling fingers and then gasped in surprise as she saw the carving of California. The major cities were on the four-inch piece of wood and a small diamond was centered for Sacramento.
"It's beautiful, David," Lori said as she jumped up in his arms and gave him a kiss.
"That is the largest diamond I could get out of the mine. I wish it could have been in a ring, but you know the skull heads would take it, since we are not allowed to own anything..."
Suddenly, a large explosion detonated from outside and the door flew open from the concussion. There was a loud voice saying they were here to rescue the entire slave population. Kneeling beside Lori, they waited for the combat to stop, and then they stepped outside.
They were guided over to the vehicles and placed on them with hundreds of other humans and a few Tralcan's, thirty minutes later, they arrived at the space dock, and they were walking along with the rest of the escapees when he was grabbed and shoved against the wall by some of the armored creatures. Lori was ripped out of his hands and someone said she was going on the liner Queen Mary.
"No he is my husband! I am going with him," Lori screamed as she reached for him.
David and Lori held onto each other, and as they were pulled apart, his hand pulled along her arms and her id tag came off that was wrapped around her left arm, as his was stripped from his left hand. Lori held the tag up and kissed it. Davy turned and swung a fist at one of the armored creatures, as his fist hit, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and that was the last time David saw her.
William hefted the club in his right hand. He stood ready to go, as the rest of their party slid out in to the passageway. Running around the corner, William swung the club and caught the first man who was standing up in the chest, flipping him back out of his chair as the rest of his assault team charged the rest of the marines. Even with them enhanced, the former slaves quickly overpowered the guards, and had them hog tied in seconds.
Lisa walked along the cells looking in and finally her eyes settled on the one man she hated to the inner parts of her soul. She stared at him for several minutes and then said, "You're going to die David. Die for what you did to me and my friends, and for what you did to my baby sister."
David Hassenbeck jerked up from the bed and flipped around as he looked at the woman, "Lisa you're alive!"
"Of course I am alive, no thanks to you, you son of a bitch. I am going to see you pay for what did. You murdered my sister."
David shook his head as he looked at the woman and swallowed, and replied, "She's alive! I swear she is."
Lisa staggered back and looked at the man as tears ran down her cheeks, as she snapped, "Don't tell me that shit. I know she's dead. Then you sent me to that hell hole."
"Lisa, I had no choice. Your number and all the rest were drawn at random. Do you think I would send my wife's sister to the skull heads if I could stop it? Ask Lori if you don't believe me. I was given a list of numbers that the computer would spit out every month and told to deliver them," David said as he sat down on his bed.
"Then where is she?" Lisa snapped.
"When I was grabbed by the guards, she was taken from me and put on a ship called the Queen Mary. I swear it, please check. I beg you; don't leave Lori a widowed mother. Oh God! What have I done?" David said as he buried his face into his hands.
"What?" Lori screamed as she tried to get the door open, as she shouted, "I am going to kill you. You fucken bastard you raped my sister."
Davy slid back from the wall shaking his head, "No, never rape, I married her. Old Father John married us. I swear I am telling you the truth."
Lisa wasn't listing as she screamed incoherently.
William looked up from where he was sitting and examining one of the strange weapons. Rushing over to his sister who was screaming, he grabbed her hand, and said, "Lisa, stop! What are you doing?"
"This bastard raped Lori, I am going to kill him," Lisa cried out as she yanked on the lever for the cell door and the alarm went off.
Commander Ricardo Gomez looked up as the alarm sounded and walked over to the internal security panel. Seeing the alarm was for one of the cell sections holding people who were to be tried as collaborators. He activated the monitor and froze as he watched the guards being herded away and then a second larger group of the former escapees came in and stated taking the prisoners away. Activating the internal cams, he watched as they led the hostages and the prisoners to the main cargo hold that been converted into sleeping accommodations.
"Get me the Oregon. We have a situation here."
"Yes, Sir," replied Lieutenant Cynthia Davis.
Captain Theodore White paced his bridge. Around him in hyperspace, hundreds of captured ships from the Crytherian fleet were crawling home with over five million former slaves. Stopping he looked out the main viewer and looked at the USS Queen Mary as she pulled up beside his ship on the starboard side. The seven mile long luxury liner was carrying over a half million refugees. Crawling over the ship's hull were hundreds of spiderbots building defensive stations. While inside her hull, the three hundred marines and sailors he had shipped over to the ship were recruiting new recruits from the former slaves. The most talented had been the Tralcan escapees and already forty thousand of them were manning weapon stations, and hundreds of stations in the ships.
On the portside of the ship, the captured Crytherian space dock trudged along at its top speed. Inside three of its six massive slips, spiderbots were finishing the three captured Crytherian Basilisk dreadnaughts. Already one was finished and to relieve crowding on the ships, he had transferred the two hundred and ten thousand Dralins to the ship and given it to them as their first ship. The giant panda like creatures loved the ship, and they had named it Dralin after their home world. He had set up training simulators throughout the ship and the new crew was being trained to work the mighty ship. When finished, they would have all three of them as the nucleus of their navy, or that was the plan at least.
Commander Shawn Edwards looked up from his communications pad and turned to Captain White, "Sir, I have a report from the mining freighter Hathor, Commander Gomez reports that the civilian population has taken some of the high value prisoners and are trying to get to the rest of them. They want to eject them out the airlocks. They have taken half dozen marines as hostage."
"Contact Captain Sammy Anderson, she's on the Balin, she is to lead her NAT team over there and free them," Ted said as he looked out the window.
"Yes Sir, sending now."
Freighter Balin
Sammy looked up at Kevin as he thrust into her, her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist as he took her to another orgasm as she nibbled on his neck and bit down drawing a spot of blood with her sharp teeth.
Kevin grabbed Sammy's hair and bent her neck back as he kissed her hard on the lips.
Sammy bit down on Kevin's lower lip and sucked hungrily at the trickle of blood as he tried to pull away.
Kevin winced under the bite, and worked his lip loose and looked at his wife, "Damn it Sam. What are you doing?" he asked as she licked the blood from her lips.
"Fucking you, what's it look like?" Sammy said.
She rolled them over on the big bed, and started riding him. Her perfectly shaped breasts bounced as she rode him like a bucking bronco. Sammy gripped Kevin's wrists and pinned them above his head. Bending down she bit his left nipple and pulled on it with a grin as his body arched and shoved him deep inside her.
Kevin looked at his wife, and he could swear she was loosing it and before he could say anything, he started cumming inside her just as the com chimed. Kevin rolled from under Sammy and grabbed the com unit; when he turned to look at her, she was kneeling on the bed, her fingers extended like claws. Her lips had a smear of blood on them and a wild look in her eyes like a stalking tiger.
"Kevin Anderson here."
""Sir, I have a message from the flag. Captain Anderson is to lead her NAT team to the mining freighter Hathor, the civilian population has taken Marines as hostage. They want to jettison the prisoners without a trial. Captain White wants the marines freed and the ship brought back under control."
"Can do, we are on the way," Kevin said as he stepped away from Sammy even as she tried to grasp his cock.
"I want to play!" Sammy said as she crawled across the bed.
"We can't Sammy, business first," Kevin said as he pulled some underwear on.
"You're no fun, you get me all horny, and now we have to go play soldier," Sammy replied as she slipped off the bed and walked to dresser and pulled out a clean pair of panties and slipped them on.
Kevin watched his wife's ass and the tattoos of the T'Lari queen and a marine on it as it wiggled when she walked. It looked like they were fighting. The queen was on her right cheek and on the left was the spitting image of her with battle axes in the air.
Sammy pulled up the soft silk and slapped her right cheek for luck. Grabbing her internal suit she pulled it on and then started strapping on her armor.
"Sammy, why do you do that?" Kevin asked as he pulled on his suit armor.
"Do what?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder at Kevin.
"Slap your right butt cheek," Kevin replied as he pulled the chest armor on.
"Luck, I figure we need all the luck, we can get, and we did kick her ass," Sammy said as she giggled.
"Well you kicked it, I don't remember much."
"Well you did help, if she hadn't gone for you, I wouldn't have had my... " Sammy stopped as she thought back and tried to remember what happened that day, but it was all blurry like it had been erased.
With a small smile, she pulled on her boots, checked her belly to see if there was any sign yet, and sighed. Grabbing the chest armor, she pulled it on. Turning she swung her gun belt onto her waist and then slung her two axes across her back.
"Sammy, I don't think Captain White wants them dead!" Kevin said as he picked up his plasma rifle.
"I know, but I don't go anywhere without them now."
"I ... I know Sammy, here's your rifle," he replied with a sigh as he handed her, her plasma rifle, and they headed out of their quarters.
Freighter Hathor
The freighter Hathor trudged along at minimum warp power. She was one of the slowest ships in the captured fleet and the oldest. Built roughly seventy years before, her hull was wearing out. Commander Ricardo Gomez watched as the civilians held a court in the main cargo hold that had been converted in to housing for the ten thousand escapees.
David Hassenbeck looked at the three women in front of him and listened on how they reported he had raped them and to hide his crime, he then had them sent to the insemination house to be murdered.
The Battle for the Space Docks Federation Fleet Captain John Wilkes walked onto the bridge of the USS America and looked at the main screen. The news he had just received about the takeover had him nervous about possible saboteurs or traitors on board his command. Pressing the intercom, he started to address the crew, "This is the Captain speaking. All hands man your battlestations. This is not a drill. Units of the United States Military have engaged our bases on the moon and the Arizona...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
"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...
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...
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,...
Court "Commander Amy Thompson, by a count of 7 to 0 we, the court, find you guilty of all charges. You are sentenced to death and the destruction of your capsule and your ship," Sandi said as she looked at the woman. Amy's knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor, and muttered quietly, "my baby. Don't kill my baby, oh God please don't let them kill my baby." "This court will reform inside the capsule room of the USS Washington's primary interface and initiate the destruction...
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...
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...
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...
Ken watched the Captains file out and head back to their own ships. Sitting in his chair, he smiled at Kala, and said, "I think your plan is going to work, at least the other Captains were excited about..." he said. He looked up as the doors open and Tammy walked in. "Hi, love, it's good to see you." Tammy walked in to the conference room and stopping as she saw the platinum haired woman sitting across from Ken. "Hello, Admiral, who's your friend?" 'Hello, sister, I am Kalaria,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The senior planning group met in the big conference room, ‘command central’, with their assistants. The room was large but now nearly full. Jason knew that Robert would be relishing the new situation. He would really enjoy having a full canteen. “I’d like to confirm that the first planet is to be formally known as Mars. Mars was a God of war in my mythology,” said Jason. “This planet will be called Porquenta.” Matilda MacArthur, the senior intelligence general officer introduced Karen...
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...
As they pulled up towards the cabin, the phone in Ted's hand started talking. "Ted! I detect someone in distress in that building. By her life signs, it's a young woman. She is in great pain. Her body has a bad infection, and her body temp is 106 degrees and rising. Her blood is infected, and is septic." The Ranger stepped out of the building, and reached for his gun as they approached. Ted dropped the phone, and unfastened his seatbelt. He grabbed the door handle as they neared the...
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
Arabian Sea, February 18th 1833 “The Fishing Fleet is a rather unkind label affixed to those females who travel out from England to seek husbands in India,” Captain Hands said, “and I am considered the Admiral of the Fishing Fleet as it was an impromptu remark I made to my brother that initiated the practice.” Captain Robin Hands and I were seated in his cabin aboard Hermes. We were two days out from Aden, heading due east with all sail set. His cabin would have made any Royal Navy captain...
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...
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,...
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 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...
Meanwhile, we were trying to gather ships. I had two front-line warships at Jayport, Shark and Wrong Place, four when Thunder and Eagle got back, plus another five smaller brigs without launchers that we used as escorts. Well, our task for this was to escort and protect the troopships, so they were included. Widemouth and the eastern towns could add something like eight or nine more warships. Each could carry a hundred fighting men plus their crews, but if possible I would want them to stay...
"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...
Everyone was more than happy to see me. They had been listening to the Cariss signals and cheering each time I led them into trouble. The women pulled Dawn aside and I went to rest. For the next three days I stayed with the colony and the fleet sent a signal burst that broke through. It was encrypted and Mr Harris began decrypting it by hand. He finally looked around at everyone waiting, “The fleet will be here within a day.” Everyone was cheering but I was thinking of the welcome they...
Deep in the hull of the T'Lari battleship, Ka'Nisk walked into the secondary bridge. He looked around as his crew gathered at their stations. "Are we ready?" he asked. Tb'Nar turned from his command turrets. "Sir, power is coming online. I have weapons status on three hundred of the missile bays, and thirty of the laser cannons. Engines are at forty percent power. Anti-gravity generators are online and ready to go. Shield generators are reading thirty percent. We can lift off...
Ted sat in the vehicle holding the cake, as the car shot through the hallways. It came to a dead stop in front of a familiar conference room. Ted led everyone into the room, and they saw Amy standing there. Setting the cake on the table, he turned to the others. "Go ahead and pick a spot. James break out the food, I will get dishes." Going over to the replicator, Ted issued some commands. "Computer fifteen plates, fifteen coffee cups, and flatware settings for fifteen, please." The...