Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (26 page)

             
“They can’t be the same beings. They must have just used the language of the nearest inhabited system to hide their true identities. It must be some remnant of a race we have already pacified or cleansed. I will take the Battlecruiser
Flykreel
and report to the Shelecore of this matter. We have never suffered such loses before, and I must speak to him in person. You are to take the
Krazzeen
and proceed to coordinates just outside of the hostile system, where you will rendezvous with Overlord Trikreca and the Third Fleet. Overlord Trikreca will then find and destroy the hostiles . . . these humaans.”

             
Then, as if an afterthought, Krailsha added, “I know you are ambitious, Commander Shizta, but under no circumstances are you to take the
Krazzeen
into that system without the support of the Third Fleet.”

             
“Yes, Supreme Overlord. But can anything really stand against the flagship of the mighty Shenkar Federation? This ship is one of a kind. It could crush any three battlecruisers with ease.”

             
“Even so, you will wait for the Third Fleet, or you will have me to deal with--do I make myself clear?” demanded Krailsha.

             
“Yes, Supreme Overlord,” Shizta said, not bothering to hide his animosity for his commander.

             
Krailsha ignored the insolence, turned, and left for personal transport that would take him to the
Flykreel
.

Krazzeen
, Flagship of the Shenkar Dread Fleet

              Shizta stood on the bridge of the
Krazzeen
, studying the main view screen. Except for one of the gas giants in the next system, only distant stars and darkness were visible.

             
“Are we picking up anything on our scanners?” he asked the officer manning the nearby communications station.

             
“No, Commander.”

             
Shizta paced, with aggravation pulsing throughout his body. He didn’t need the Third Fleet; nothing could stand against the
Krazzeen
. If he were to find and either capture or destroy these humans, then he would get the recognition he so well deserved. Perhaps even the Shelecore himself would wish to thank him for his efforts. He would then be out from under the Supreme Commander’s eye and his cautious nature.

             
How he hated the Supreme Overlord. How could such a warrior of his renowned record of victories be so cautious? There was no honor in caution, only honor in decisive action. Making a sudden decision, he turned to the bridge crew.

             
“Launch all fighters. Have them fan out in front of us. We will find the vermin that infests this system. The glory and honor of this will not go to the Third Fleet but to us!”

             
Wave after wave of fighters launched from the ship. Fifteen minutes later, seven hundred Shenkar fighters spread out in a protective shield. The fighters would precede the
Krazzeen
, searching out any areas the enemy may have hidden.

             
“Fighters in place, sir,” said a voice from the operations station.

             
“All ahead full; maintain the standard distance.”

             
Slowly, the
Krazzeen
moved into the star system behind its screen of fighters. Scanners were set for optimal search patterns. Shizta watched the view screen, searching for any clue to the whereabouts of these “humans.”

Necro Squadron
Patrol

              Liam’s fighter cruised along the outer edge of the atmosphere of the gas giant that lay on the outermost boundary of the system.               “Nothing, nothing, and yet more nothing,” he muttered to himself.

             
Over the past week there had been a drop in the Shenkar forces entering the system. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was sure the Shenkar knew about their presence. He thoroughly believed a fighter had survived and was able to report back to the advancing Dread Fleet. However, the question was, what was next and when would they come? Keying his comm unit, he looked over toward Evan’s fighter cruising along.

             
“Zombie, you getting anything?”

             
“Nope, I got nothing. Weird, isn’t it? One minute we have a regular flow of Shenkar forces, and the next we have nothing. You don’t suppose they have changed the system they are assembling in?”

             
“It’s possible. Ever since Frenchy’s mistake, they now know we are somewhere around here. Only thing is, from what the Meshtrell said of the Shenkar, it wouldn’t make sense. They have never suffered defeat, and this would be a defeat for them if they moved on without first eliminating us--not to mention that it would be strategically stupid. You don’t leave an enemy behind you when you are headed toward another enemy.

             
“No, I think they are holding forces up somewhere in a buildup until they can bring in enough to defend themselves against an attack from us without getting slaughtered. The problem is, they don’t know how big a force we have, so we don’t know how many ships they will collect before entering the system to find us. I am hoping their arrogance is as big as the Meshtrell claim it is. It would mean they wouldn’t wait long before coming after us, and hopefully, it will be with a force we can handle. We still need to hold them off for a few more months. I just wish--”

             
An alarm on his flight board sounded, cutting off Liam in midsentence. Looking to his readout, he saw a report of something entering the system. Checking his long-range scanners, he saw that something was, in fact, entering the system--something very big.

Evan’s voice sounded over his comm unit.

              “Are you picking up what I’m picking up?”

             
“Yes . . . what is that? The Meshtrell said they wouldn’t be bringing in their battlecruisers until it was closer to the end,” said Liam.

             
“That’s no battlecruiser; it’s much too large,” said the voice of Liam’s wingmate, Tim Wellmo, or Vampire.

             
“Necro Squadron, we need to hide; everyone, follow me.” Liam edged his fighter down into the dense upper atmosphere of the gas giant below him. After some distance, when he was sure they were well hidden, he called the squadron to a halt and then hailed the
Sacrifice
.

             
“
Sacrifice
, this is Ghost. We have just picked up something entering the system--something very big. Please advise.”

             
“Ghost, this is
Sacrifice
. We have just picked up the same signature. Please hold position while we analyze,” came the voice of Lieutenant Sukita.

             
Seconds turned to minutes before a response to his query came back. “Ghost, we have no known signatures on file. Our Meshtrell need a visual, can you comply?” asked the voice of Captain Caqel.

             
“That’s an affirmative; hold for visual.”

Liam engaged his thrusters and brought his fighter up to the outer edges of the dense planet’s atmosphere. Keying long-range scanners, he brought the massive ship into view onto a small view screen in front of him
, then relayed the image to the
Sacrifice
.

             
As he waited for a response, he studied the massive ship. The ship was roughly a mile in length, much like a battlecruiser. The one main difference was the launching bay; it emerged from just underneath the bow of the ship. Upon a closer look at the stern, it also seemed to have a hangar bay just below a massive set of engines. Watching, he saw ships occasionally launching out of the bow and ships landing in the stern--but never landing in the bow or launching from the stern. He concluded that the hangar bay must run the entire length of the ship, providing a constant flow of ships entering and exiting.

             
His computer brought up the technical information it had accumulated, and he was staggered to see the strength of the energy shields. The only weak points in the shields he could see were where they covered the launch bay’s entrance on the stern. Too bad--he would have to go through the screen of fighters that preceded the massive ship, fly past its many energy cannons, and swing around before he could think of doing any damage. Maybe if they had all their fighters and four battlecruisers, they could take this thing head-on, but not with what they currently had.

             
An odd energy pulse caught Liam’s attention on the analysis. Looking more closely, Liam found it to be just forward of midship. Its pulse matched that of the shields.
So that must be where the shield generators were housed
, he mused. Armor was layered repeatedly around this area of the hull.

             
“Ghost, this is Admiral Kelvin. What you see there is what the Meshtrell say is the
Krazzeen
: the flagship of the whole Shenkar Federation. It is known as a dreadnought. They failed to mention this ship because they felt we would never see it. The ship is usually never used far from the Shenkar home world . . . wherever that is,” the Admiral said, not bothering to hide his frustration and anger with the information the Meshtrell sometimes failed to mention because they deemed it unnecessary.

             
“So what are our options, sir?” Liam asked.

             
“We fight, and most likely, we die. One battlecruiser just isn’t enough to stand against those fighters and the shields of that monstrosity.”

             
“Sir, I have an idea . . . it’s a long shot, but any chance at this point is worth taking,” said Liam.

             
“What is your plan?”

             
Liam detailed out his plan and what they needed to do. Silence was the only response he received. Then he heard Reeta’s muffled voice speak over the open frequency: “That might just work, you know.”

             
“Very well, we will go with your plan, Lieutenant Commander. Get your squadron positioned, and we will do the rest.”

             
The comm unit closed, and once again, Liam was in silence. He edged his fighter back down into the planet’s atmosphere to rejoin his squadron.

EDF
Sacrifice
, Command Bridge

              “All pilots to your fighters. I repeat, all pilots to your fighters. Enemy inbound, ETA twenty minutes,” said Lieutenant Sukita over the ship’s internal comm system.

             
“Once all fighters have launched and are in position, we will exit from the asteroid field . . . that should pull that screen of fighters away from the
Krazzeen
. Have the four Chimera squadrons hang back until we engage the fighters, then have them loop out and around, bypass the fighters, and engage the
Krazzeen
with every antimatter torpedo they can launch at it,” ordered the Admiral.

             
Captain Caqel stepped up beside the Admiral and spoke in a low voice so not to be overheard. “Sir, I mean no disrespect, but I must remind you, as your second-in-command, that our orders were not to engage the enemy directly if it could result in the destruction of the
Sacrifice
.”

             
“I am aware of the orders, Captain, but look at it this way. If we were to just leave our fighters here and take the
Sacrifice
home, do you agree the pilots would all die?”

             
Captain Caqel nodded an affirmative.

             
“Well, then, if they are all dead, then the Shenkar could assemble their fleet and assault Earth before the defenses are completed. So do you really think one battlecruiser would make the difference?”

             
“No, sir, I don’t doubt you haven’t thought this out completely. I just had to do my job and remind you of our orders.”

             
“And I would expect nothing less of you,” Admiral Kelvin said with a smile.

             
“Sir, what of the engineering crews on the asteroid? We won’t have time to recover them,” asked Caqel

             
“Yes, I know. They will have to stay where they are. The base is nearly complete, and they have plenty of supplies in the event we lose this fight. With their equipment, in time they will be able to build a ship capable of taking them home . . . providing they have a home to go to.”