The crew suffered even more. Far away from the beam’s point of impact, pressure waves destroyed eardrums, knocked people off their feet, and in some cases caused internal damage. Closer, the searing heat burned their skin, set their hair on fire, and burned away lung tissue. Closer still the heat turned them into unrecognizable charred remains or simply vaporized them into their component molecules.
The Chroniech had also noticed the missiles that were fast approaching and took steps to deal with them. Timed to arrive at their targets nearly simultaneously, the missiles presented a formidable challenge. Due to the relative velocities between the missiles and the fleet, the Chroniech had less than a minute to target and destroy them all.
Material based anti-missile systems were useless at the distances and speeds involved. It would be equivalent to trying to hit a speeding bullet with an arrow – it simply could not be done. Hundreds of beams lashed out from the speeding Chroniech ships. Missiles were hit and disabled or destroyed by the thousands. Thousands more got through.
For a brief period of time 6,233 miniature suns erupted, each one an exploding warhead. But, Chroniech shields were tough and it took multiple, simultaneous hits to break them down. Admiral Y-Matera had hoped to kill over half the enemy forces with the massive missile barrage. It took the computer a few moments to distinguish between the still moving wrecks and the remaining accelerating warships. In the end the Admiral’s tactic had scored 51 kills.
The Admiral had also adopted a tactic similar to that of the Chroniech. Groups of ships targeted the same Chroniech vessel. Based on the information gathered during Chomach’s encounter with the Chroniech, the tactical computer had determined the number of beams required to break through the enemy shields. Once the shield had been overpowered it was only a matter of time before the beams could do enough damage to render the Chroniech ship useless.
For seven minutes the battle raged. The two fleets passed out of weapons range and assessed the results of the battle. Two hundred and three Alliance ships had been completely destroyed. Seventy three others would require extensive repairs. Ninety-six Chroniech ships were now expanding clouds of debris. But the battle was not over yet.
Soon after passing the Alliance fleet and leaving them to lick their wounds, the Chroniech were engaged by the defense stations. Huge and slow, the defense stations were designed to be the last space-based defense system for the planet. They were heavily automated and bristled with weapons. During the time it had taken the Chroniech fleet to reach them, 101 stations had managed to position themselves close enough to engage them in combat.
Unlike a fast, highly mobile fleet, the defense stations were slow. They were designed to remain in place guarding the planet’s population. Because of their inability to quickly maneuver, many of the stations were still quite a distance from the attacking Chroniech fleet when the engagement began. This reduced their effectiveness.
Once again beams of energy crisscrossed space. Shields blazed with deflected energy. Ships suffered damage and some were lost. Defense stations fell. Lasting less then four minutes the battle left the Chroniech with 86 fully operational or partially damaged ships. This came at the price of 15 defense stations.
Just prior to reaching Proquindabo the Chroniech fleet unleashed a barrage of missiles. Traveling at nearly 1,000 kilometers per second the missiles required barely twenty seconds to travel from their point of launch to the planet. The Proquindabo surface batteries attempted to shoot them down but had little success. The missiles hit the atmosphere and in less than a second impacted.
Four hundred and ten pinpoints of light appeared on the planet’s surface. Each one was the hellfire of a 200 megaton warhead. Due to the speed of the launchers it was virtually impossible for the missiles to be accurately targeted. Firing more or less at random still resulted in tremendous damage. A 200 megaton warhead did not need to be accurately placed.
Seconds after the missiles impacted, the Chroniech fleet grazed the atmosphere of the planet. While doing so every ship turned their beams toward the surface. Targeting major population centers, the Chroniech let their beams wander over the targets for as long as possible. On the other side of the planet the fleet was met by another, although smaller group of defense stations.
Another short battle followed resulting in the destruction of four more Chroniech ships and an equal number of defense stations. The invaders sped off into space without slowing down. After twenty minutes they engaged their stardrive and left the ruined world of Proquindabo behind.
Half the planet lay in ruins. Twenty-eight cities had been annihilated by the nuclear strike. Seventeen more were in flames with most of the population dead or dying. Radioactive fallout would eventually poison most of the planet’s atmosphere making life there nearly impossible. Within two years the once lush (if you were a Lamaltan) planet would be a dead world.
Preparations for War
It had taken nearly a week of back-breaking, around-the-clock work to get the Kyrra factory ships assembled and supplied with the required raw materials. The Kyrra had designed their ships to be assembled together into a complete working factory. Raw materials went in one end and the finished products came out the other. It was an amazing feat of engineering.
While the work on the ground moved along at a frantic pace, other changes were taking place high in orbit. Shield generators are large, complex pieces of equipment normally requiring a fully equipped shipyard to replace. Transporting the new Kyrra built generators from Mintaka to Almaranus would have been impractical. Instead, several hastily constructed orbital shipyards appeared above Mintaka.
These shipyards were specifically built, staffed, and tooled to allow for quick replacement of a ship’s shield generator with one built by the Kyrra. Extensive computer simulations had managed to get the turn-around time from start to finish down to an acceptable three days for most ships. Before the first generator had rolled off the assembly line, three Tholtaran heavy battle cruisers had arrived and were quickly being prepared to receive the upgrades.
Other changes in and around the Mintakan star system were taking place. A network of long-range tracking stations was quickly deployed. The newest Tholtaran juggernaut, the
Tar-ack-tar
, had taken up station within the system along with an impressive fleet of heavy warships. The components of several hundred planetary defense guns were on their way to be installed on the planet’s surface. Mintaka had become one of the most vital planet’s in the Alliance and the military wanted to protect it as such.
Within an hour of the arrival of the factory ships ten Mispha interceptors had departed for various locations. Each one carried an instantaneous transceiver. These would link the Alliance military command centers together across hundreds of lights years giving them, for the first time ever, the ability to coordinate their efforts in real-time.
It had been decided to build the communications hub inside an old colony ship. The ship, which had recently been scheduled for decommissioning and dismantling had been quickly restored to a space-worthy condition then moved to a secret position far from any star system. Sitting in space, without using any propulsion systems, it would be nearly impossible to detect. A more permanent location for the communications hub would be built at a later date.
Elsewhere, throughout the Alliance, heavy weapons factories were being pushed to their limits. Planetary governments from all over the Alliance had placed large orders for heavy defense systems. Shipyards were ordered to push partially built civilian ships out of the docks and begin construction of military vessels. Military ships near completion were given top priority. Older, mothballed warships were reactivated and work was underway to bring their weapon systems up to modern standards. No shipyard anywhere in the Alliance sat idle.
On Almaranus, the military computers ran simulation after simulation of what might happen when the Chroniech began their invasion in earnest. Since it was impossible to predict their battle plans every conceivable scenario had to be taken into account. When word of the Proquindabo disaster reached sector command the military knew they had a major problem on their hands.
Fifteen years ago, during the first war with the Chroniech, the two sides had battled it out ship to ship. Only after eliminating the defending fleet did the Chroniech attack a planet. The new tactic employed again Proquindabo had serious consequences for the Alliance. Scenario after scenario spit out of the computers showing the Alliance losing billions of lives. The devastation caused by the new tactic would seriously reduce the Alliance’s ability to support the war effort. Defeat was predicted.
“We must find a way to prevent the Chroniech from bypassing our defense forces,” Fleet Admiral Brin said to the group of military commanders gathered at Almaranus. Admiral Gortanith Brin was a portly, 52 year old Shandarian sporting a head of short cropped gray hair. He was in charge of fleet operations for the entire Almaranus sector.
“This tactic is something we have never had to deal with,” Admiral Rick Wiles added. Both of Rick’s parents were native Earthers, neither of which had ever left their home planet. As a child, Rick had been adventurous and saw the military as a way of escaping the boredom of life as a farmer. Once he left Earth, he never looked back.
“The indiscriminate bombing of populated planets,” Rick continued, “is not something any of the Alliance races has ever condoned. Apparently, the Chroniech don’t share this philosophy.”
“How long before we can begin large-scale production of the Falnath jump drive?” asked a Tholtaran Fleet Commander.
“Several facilities throughout the Alliance are tooling up to build the new drive,” Admiral Brin replied. “It has been difficult to find a manufacturer with the technical ability to construct the drive components. Estimates are ranging from three to as long as five weeks before the first unit is ready. Apparently the new drive is quite difficult to build and volume will be low.”
“This is frustrating as hell,” Admiral Wiles threw in. “We have the technology to win this war but we can’t build the damn things fast enough.”
“I agree with your frustration,” the Tholtaran said. “Our losses are going to be very high until production of these new devices is sufficient to offset the technological superiority the Chroniech currently possess.”
“Unacceptable,” Admiral Brin said with authority. “I want suggestions on how to stop the Chroniech from bombing our planets and turning them into radioactive wastelands. I will entertain any reasonable idea from anyone.”
There was a noticeable silence in the room following the Admiral’s last statement. Fifteen high ranking military commanders from nearly that many races sat around the conference table trying in vain to come up with a solution. After over a minute had gone by without a single word being said a voice from along the wall was heard, “May I offer a suggestion?”
There was a general shuffling of chairs and turning of heads as all eyes focused on the person who had spoken. A young Human enlisted woman had risen from her seat and unflinchingly faced the table. She was an aid assigned to cater to the needs of the high ranking military staff. Technically, she was breaching military protocol and could conceivably be disciplined for her behavior.
Admiral Brin looked her over for a moment. She was very short and looked more like a child than an adult. But her stance and the determined look on her face made her seem far more mature then she looked. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “Nobody else seems to have been able to come up with anything. Who are you?”
In a clear voice she replied, “First Class Petty Officer Cory Stevens sir.”
Nodding approval the Admiral said, “Very well Petty Officer Stevens. What would you suggest?”
“Strip the inner systems of every missile in their arsenals and deploy them to the outer worlds. Mount them so they can be rapidly fired on ships stationed in high orbit about the planets to be defended. If done properly, you should be able to overwhelm their anti-missile defenses. Humans have used the tactic in the past with great success.”
Everyone in the room realized she was referring to the destruction of a Tholtaran juggernaut during the Human – Tholtaran war. Even though the Humans had lost the war, they had managed to destroy what had once been seen as an almost indestructible ship. They had done so, in part, by firing so many missiles at it that the anti-missile defense system had been overwhelmed.
“What! Strip the inner worlds of… ” Admiral Wiles started to comment but silenced himself when Admiral Brin shot him a stern look.
“A bold suggestion Petty Officer Stevens,” the Admiral commented. “But one, I might add, that has merit. Comments?”
A Rouldian Sector Commander replied, “The defenders of Proquindabo tried a similar defense and did manage to destroy a good number of enemy ships. Perhaps we should run some simulations using the results from that battle.”
“I might add,” Stevens hesitantly added, “that the Proquindabo missiles were not equipped with advanced ECM therefore allowing them to be easily tracked and targeted.”
Admiral Brin was impressed with Petty Officer Stevens. She seemed to know quite a bit about tactics and seemed to have no problem addressing a room full of very high ranking officers. “What is your rating?” he asked.
“I am a fire control technician,” Stevens replied. “But my hobby is military tactics.”
“Not any more. Effective immediately you’re now part of the Almaranus tactical think tank,” Admiral Brin announced. “Are there any more comments concerning this suggestion?”
“We will have to convince the inner worlds to go along with this plan,” Admiral Wiles commented.
“Agreed. This is also something that must be done quickly. We have very little time before the Chroniech breach the barrier.”
“There is something else we can do,” the Tholtaran Commander said. Seeing that he had everyone’s attention he continued, “Past practice has always been to place our fleet between the attacking force and the planet to be defended. This allows us to analyze the attacking fleet formation and devise an appropriate response. It also ensures that all ships of the defense force are in position to intercept the attackers. I suggest we move our fleets out beyond stardrive distance so they can intercept the incoming forces before they even enter the star system.”