Part 2 | Star Frontiers

AboardFSSLewis B. PullerIn orbit,1,000kilometers above Colorado, Isabella System05/04/70, 02:26:00 “Entering standard orbit around Colorado,” the Puller'sXO, Commander DeShon Gilyard reported from the piloting station atthe forward end of the bridge. “We're being hailed, Skipper,” Chief Radioman Claus Delgado reported from the comm station directly behind Captain Thomas Boone Pendry's command station. “Presidents McCallum and Valdez both wish to speak with you, Sir.” “Then, put them through, Sparks,” Pendry replied, the master holodisplay in front of the piloting station coming to life, splitting to accommodate the alleged rivals for the Presidency of the Republic of Colorado. “Sirs,” Pendry said, nodding his head slightly,”good morning.” “Captain Pendry,”Jacob McCallum said first,”welcome to Colorado. You'll be pleased to know that all Republican forces have been ordered to stand down and allow you to proceed without interference.” “The Democratic Forces and Lamarian advisor units in the field,” Colorado's other President, J.W. Valdez, then said,”have been ordered to trail and observe the fugitives, but not to take any other action. Am uploading the relevant data to you now.” “I have it, Sir,”Sensorman 1/c Joseph Benton reported from the sensor station on the opposite side of Delgado's comm station. “Tangos are nearing the rendezvous coordinates arranged via warpdrive transceiver with the Hammarskjolder medship we prosecuted, Sir.” “Pass the data onto the Marines' Links, First Class,” Pendry replied.”Launch deck, this is the bridge.” “Marines are on board the Eve,”said the holo of the launch deck officer, as it floated in front of Pendry's right eye. “Chief Pilot Officer Rabwin reports all systems go, and the launch rails are charged.” “Open launch deck door,” Pendry ordered,”and—“ “Starcraft exiting warpdrive!” Benton screamed an instant after the warpdrive radar alarm blew off,” Bearing zero-eight-five degrees by two-three, zero-niner Zulu, three zero zero thousand klicks downrange, IFF data identifies her as Anacreonian, Dauntless-cla—oh,hell, vampire,vampire, vampire, raid count is—““Nukes,charge deflector array!” Pendrybarked out, “XO,evasive maneuvers, get us the hell out of—“ The Zumwalt-class heavy cruiser's bridge exploded,showering Pendry with fragments of the ceiling and the core lift behind him, broken wires snaking down, spitting blue photons in the veteran Federated States Interstellar Fleet captain's face, as the donging of the general quarters klaxon and the buzzing of other alarms echoed across the deck.   ...the soldiers burst into the classroom, snatching children out of their desks, dragging them into the hall screaming, crying, pleading for their teacher to help them. Except Miss Olafsdottir couldn't help them now, not with all those men in armor on top of her, hitting her, pulling her back to them when she tried crawling away, tearing at her clothes, calling her a filthy piece of gynt. A soldier called Stevie a filthy procreator, as he jerked hard on the eleven-year old girl's arm, pulling her around so he could slap her repeatedly across her face.... “...show it what all of you are about!“ one of the men in the bleachers screamed, as the prok gladiator Stevie was trying desperately not to fight slashed her good across her breasts with the whip of white-hot coherent plasma in her hands. “P-please,“the sixteen-year old girl stammered, trying again to plead with her,“don't, you don't—“ She screamed, as the shock collar dropped her to her knees, one of the overseers standing at the edge of the pit hissing out,“it knows what it is, all it could ever be, you filthy little piece of vog!Now, you do the same,show it, show all of us, what you really are, the only gods-damned thing any of you could ever be.“ “Fight me, filthy gynt!“Stevie’s fellow prok screamed, as she laid into her with the thermawhip. Before she grabbed and twisted Stevie's matted hair, holding her down on her knees, as the screaming of those in the bleachers, those watching this online reached a fever pitch. “Or sub-mit....“ “...you gods-damned voggin' traitor!“screamed a frightened twenty-one year old girl, as she fired the Skua's surviving guns into the Eagle, sending atmosphere gushing forth into the night, as the monstrous warship filling up most of the holodisplay plowed its way through much of what remained of Long-Range Fighter Squadron 109 and the 15thFleet. “Skipper,“Master Chief Engineering Officer Momvela, eighth Clan Zoyen, reported from the engineering station,“radiation is increasing, deflector array is destroyed, warp engine severely damaged, Rittermark field generator destroyed, containment destabilizing—“ Stevie ignored her second in command, tried not to think about all those dead on the bridge around the two of them, focusing her attention solely on the massive warship lumbering its way to warp speed, a brace of warships of various smaller types flying close escort around it. Instead, she armed the bursting charges on four of the ship’s remaining torpedos, while aiming her mortally-wounded long-range fighter towards the Marzie battleship.... Aboard Ancreonian Ship of the Watch Unbroken119,700 kilometersfrom Colorado, Isabella System05/04/70, 02:29:43 “...drop ship away, Skipper,” Chief Launch Officer Daniela Beckett's holo said,as it floated in front of Shipmaster 2d Rank Stephanie Ann Rhoads’right eye,”proceeding on planetary insertion vector at max burn.” “Acknowledged,”Stevie replied, as the Unbroken's second in command, Pilot Major Prudence Davidson, jerked the five-thousand ton Dauntless-class destroyer down and hard to port, five-inch railgun rounds and thirty-terajoulegraser pulses sizzling past the ship on both flanks, as Prue loosed another pulse from the thirty-terajoule graser cannon mounted atop Unbroken’s prow. The beam slashed deep into the 20,000 ton Zumwalt-class heavy cruiser the Anacreonian ship of the Watch was charging full-tilt, the bridge deck's own diamagnetic field generator pushing against the thrust of the twin warp engines' antimatter torches to reduce the effects of heavy gees on the bridge team, and to provide a stable artificial gravity field at the same time. “Marzie commander hailing us,” Senior Chief Radioman Anyah Gooding reported. “Enemy heavy punching fighters,” Master Chief Sensorman Meliza, fifteenth so named of Clan Potonakro, said at the same time. “Pilot Major, arm torpedo bursting charges, and kill those fighters dead,” Stevie snapped, as she glanced at the tactical situation on her left-hand command holodisplay. The holo of a fat,bald Human male with turd-brown eyes and a fuzzy caterpillar on his lip appeared in the master holodisplay, and barked out “This is Captain Thomas B. Pendry of the Federated States Ship Lewis B. Puller! You are interfering in a legitimate peacekeeping operation, conducted at the request of the duly-elected government of Colorado! You will stand down your vessel, and prepare to be boarded, or—“ “This is the Anacreonian Ship of the Watch Unbroken,”Stevie spat back at him. “You have attacked a medship, raped and murdered its crew, and are planning to do the same exact, gods-damned thing to the people they were coming to this crapheap planet to pick up. Under the termsof the Treaty of Sappho, you are therefore guilty of piracy and terrorism—“ “They're the ones,” shot back Pendry's predictable response,”who were guilty of ter—“ “—and,” Stevie, with a voice which could chill the frickin' Big Bang, told him,”you have just voggin’ signed your death warrant! Pilot Major, where the hell are those torpedos?!” Her answer appeared the left-hand command holodisplay, three Sledgehammer II kinetic-kill torpedos exploding into trillions of fragments of shrap travelling at relativistic velocities, shredding the Puller’s twelve SF-70 Thundercat fighters like a trailer park in a tornado. The Marzie gugsucker’s ugly face disappered, and the master holodisplay went back to showing the view from the forward cams, just in time for Unbroken's skipperto see the enemy heavy cruiser briefly disappear in a photoflash explosion, as torps, five-inch railgun rounds and another pulse of 30TJ gras bulled through his defensive array of diamagnetic field generators to strike home. Unbroken's bridge exploding, alarms howling, broken fiber-optic cabling spitting photons everywhere, Engineer Lieutenant Ariel Dixon reporting from the engineering station directly behind the sensor and comm stations,”deflector array strength down 56%, primary electrical system 60% disrupted, port warp engine housing opened to space, venting antimatter and coolant, port engine severely damaged, containment on port reactor core destablizing, port reactor core running wild, antimatter reaction rate now five kilograms per second and rising! Automatic repair systems engaging!” “Planetary defenses, surface and orbital, going active!”Meliza reported, the Anazeen female then adding,”surface and orbital facilities launching fighters, lerfs, corvettes, frigates and, at least two destroyers!” “Democratic and Republican commanders hailing us,” Anayah said,”demanding we stand down, and—“ “Do! Not!Reply!” Stevie replied. “Pilot Major, jump the ship.” “Put us nose to nose with that Marzie cruiser.”