The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (49 page)

Kirkpatrick watched as his ship started slowing down.

“Give me damage report.”

“Engine two is down sir. It was a lucky hit a small plasma bolt caught it.”

The ship rocked as several more energy bolts found its mark.

“Turn us around. We can’t take any more hits like that. We are staying here. And inform the admiral about our situation.”

The young ensign carried the order immediately. She just as everyone on board understood what this meant. The enemy fleet was closing in fast smelling blood. The Farragut was now the new bait that was drawing them towards their death.

The ships sensors showed damage to several sectors but with the exception of the engines nothing was serious. The hull polarization was at forty percent.

“Take evasive action and find us a target. How much more till the capacitors for the MAC gun recharge.”

“One minute sir, we are at eighty three percent.”

“Find me a target ensign.”

“Yes sir.”

As Kirkpatrick spoke to the engineer asking about the chances of repair of the engine, the Farragut lined up with one enemy destroyer.

Kerak watched as the enemy ships started retreating after the initial exchange of fire. The short stand of gave him the needed information.

The smallest enemy ships were obviously the easiest targets. The other two types were far harder to crack. One of them was starting to slow down as it got hit in the engines while it turned, but it shrugged the powerful plasma beams. He could see places where the armor was melting but it was obvious that the ships were well armored against this kind of firepower. As the battle developed he was getting more sure and sure that although they looked primitive they were far from that.

The powerful projectile weapons were causing him problems. The readings indicated that they were ranging from ten to forty tons and moving at speeds ranging from hundred and fifty to two hundred and sixty kilometers per second. They were ship killers. The ships that were left behind were proof enough for that. He knew that he has the upper hand and he planned to use it. The fleet accelerated trying to gain on the retreating ships before their reinforcements arrive.

And as they did they fell right in to the next trap.

Jennings watched impassively as the second battle started.

Elisabeth was standing. She looked at the readings. Two more minutes and her squadron was going to act. At full power it would take her squadron five minutes to reach maximum firing distance. It was time she couldn’t allow. That is why the forty fighters armed with nukes raced ahead. She launched the air wing of Prince Royal hours ago. They were about to engage just as she was going to go to full power. Considering the results of the battle so far she fully expected the enemy ships to be vaporized.

Helen watched her wing mates. They were almost at the target. Of the forty fighters ten carried nukes the other thirty had mission to engage the enemy fighters that were guarding the five ships.

“Ok Eagles. We all know what we should do. Let’s rock and roll.”

She got confirmation from all thirty nine fighters.

A minute later each fighter fired three missiles at its targets. Most were going for the seraphines but one third was going for the five ships.

It took almost a minute before the sensors of the enemy ships and fighters registered the stinger missiles that were heading towards them. And by then it was already too late. The ships engaged with their point defense. As they did the fighters scrambled and spread their formation trying to present a smaller target. At the same time the Dacarian ships registered the power signatures of sixteen ships that somehow managed to sneak in to their rear.

More than half of the missiles were knocked down by the point defense. But still of the twenty fighters only eleven remained. Twenty stingers slipped and managed to reach their targets. One of the corvettes received ten of them before she could fully charge her shields. Explosions littered her side as the stingers delivered their payload. At least one must have hit something vital because a large explosion erupted just seconds later and tore a piece of the hull. The corvette drifted out of formation. The other two and the destroyer grouped around the carrier trying to shield it. The seraphines tried to engage the vipers but outnumbered and outmatched they were quickly routed and destroyed. After this the vipers regrouped for a second run. Eight vipers were missing two of them with nukes.

“Follow my lead and protect the packages.”

“Copy that Troy.”

“Nice one Fin. Hope you watch your ass.”

“Don’t have to worry about me skipper I have flyboy here to keep me safe.”

The small chatter continued as they made their run. But soon it was replaced with swearing ad screaming as vipers got hit.

Far in the distance Elisabeth felt the pain in her chest as she watched the vipers make their run and her pilots die. She knew that this was the risk and that it would happen. But it was a safe way to destroy the enemy before he could react. And as the battle unfolded it was obvious that the dacarians were caught with their pants down.

“Get in to their blind side Eagles. Let’s finish this.”

The small fighters spread out and allowed the seven remaining packages to enter the blind side of the enemy and deliver their missiles. As they did that all fighters spread out trying to put as much distance between them and the now doomed ships.

The radiological alarm sounded the moment the small fighter formation was detected. When the fighters scrambled the five ships knew they are doomed. They tried to turn their hulls in order to acquire the missiles but didn’t manage to get a lock. One of the reasons for that failure was the impact of the remaining stinger missiles and the plasma and rail gun rounds before the nuclear warheads hit. They caused minimal damage but it was enough to prevent the point defense to react in time.

A minute later seven nuclear missiles found their targets. Each corvette was targeted by one. The destroyer and the carrier received two.

The warheads were fifty megatons. It was the standard yield of the warheads that were found on board the alien cruiser that was captured on Earth.

When they hit huge explosions engulfed the ships. The corvettes were vaporized immediately. So was the carrier. The destroyer’s shields managed to hold of the first explosion. But the first warhead depleted the shield. The second literally tore it in half. Several seconds later the parts exploded as the munitions ignited.

The mission was accomplished.

As the fighter wing retreated toward the Prince Royal Helen looked at the readings. Twenty two vipers were destroyed.

But she shut the pain she felt for their deaths. There would be time for morning later. The battle wasn’t over yet. Her friends died but she couldn’t cry yet.

Kerak jumped with anger as he saw the destruction of his rear guard and the new sixteen ships that appeared in his rear.

This was a trap. They were leading him all the time drawing him away from the warp point. He looked at the image of the ships. He didn’t know how but somehow he knew that his opponents were humans. And he knew that the fleet surely encountered resistance on the other side.

“We planned this mission thinking that they wouldn’t be able to challenge us in space Sod. We were wrong.”

The tribune looked at him. He knew that Kerak is right. The destruction of the ships at the warp point proved it. The other sixteen ships that just appeared were clear proof that this was a trap from the start.

“Do you remember all those stories we heard when we were young about the great wars, about the Alterans? Do you Sod?”

“Yes my lord. Our ancestors called them demons. But they also respected them.

“We are fighting their descendants Sod. We have humans on those ships. I don’t know how but they are clearly way ahead of the level of technology we thought they were.”

The tribune kept quiet. He was watching the representation and the disposition of the fleets. Kerak looked at it also. As he watched he noticed the human ships turning.  In two arns the other twelve ships would join them. He still outnumbered them and his ships had stronger shields and fire power.

“We have to destroy this force before the others get here.”

“Yes.”

He turned towards the communications officer.

“Tell all ships to accelerate and force them in to battle. Close the distance.

Jennings watched the reaction of the Dacarian fleet after the destruction of the five ships at the warp point.”

His plan was unfolding perfectly. He was still in position when he had to hold until the Squadron under Elisabeth’s command arrived but he knew that he won this battle.

The Dacarians accelerated.

“Turn around and head for them. All ships engage at will.”

The eight ships, three Los Angeles’s, three Orion’s, The Prometheus and the Intrepid turned and accelerated towards the rushing Dacarians ships. Close behind them the Eden fleet was also rushing towards the battle.

On board the Farragut Kirkpatrick watched as the twenty eight remaining ships of the enemy rushed in towards him. The engine was finally repaired but the polarization of the hull was down to eight percent.

“You are ours you bastards.”

It took a minute for the Dacarian ships to reach the second and far larger and more powerful mine field.

Kerak fell of his chair as the Battleship rocked and the alarms sounded.

He already knew that his ships hit a second mine field.

The battleship survived but it was heavily damaged. He turned to look for Sod but the tribune was lying on the floor. He was obviously dead. Dozen other legionaries were lying dead too.

“Give me a report of the damages!!!”

One of the surviving legionaries went to the console and checked the scans.

“We have multiple damages my lord. We lost three of our engines, the graviton guns are destroyed, we have hull breaches on decks seven, nine, ten, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen.”

“What about the plasma canons and our point defense? What is the status of the shields?”

“Shields are down to twelve percent. The plasma cannons in grids two and six are operational. Four and five have three operational cannons.

The rest are gone. We have operational launchers in grid one, grids two and six.”

“What about the rest of the fleet?”

“Twelve ships were destroyed my lord.”

“The three corvettes and the frigates are gone. So are the Karas and Morkult. We lost two light cruisers and one destroyer.”

Kerak kicked one piece of metal that fell before him. His fleet was crippled.

He lost two battleships. And as the legionary continued reading the damages he realized that all the other ships suffered heavy damages.

“Tell all ships to launch the fighters. And keep going in and firing.”

He knew that it was an act of desperation. But there was nothing he could do.

“Tell them to disperse and try to get the human ships one on one.”

The legionary transmitted the order. Kerak went back to his chair and set down. None of the legionaries showed fear. They all knew that the battle was lost. But they showed determination. They knew that they were about to die but they planned to take as many enemies as they could with them to the afterlife.

Jennings watched as the nuclear firestorm engulfed the Dacarian fleet. When the thirty nuclear bombs exploded the alien ships were engulfed in white fire and plasma. As the light evaporated twelve ships were nothing but broken lifeless junk, three more were drifting and internal explosions and fires could be noticed on their hulls. They were still active and trying to move again but they were easy targets. All surviving ships showed extensive damage.

“All ships move in, let’s finish this.”

The fleet moved in fast. The Dacarian ships, those that could move dispersed and scrambled to different sides. The ordered formations were broken up as each ship tried to get away. The human ships pursued them. For the first time in the battle they outnumbered their enemy. The chase lasted fifteen more minutes. In the end all Dacarian ships in the system were burning and breaking to pieces. Six more human ships were destroyed or crippled as well. Only one Dacarian ship remained in the order not running until it was destroyed.

The humans knew that it was the enemy flagship. They respected its wish to fight to the death. Kerak and his crew died as five MAC rounds impacted the battleship. The first one depleted the shields and the other five cut deep in to the superstructure of the battleship. The energy that they released broke the ship apart. Pieces of it were drifting in every side.

As Jennings watched the view from the ships cameras and telescopes he was stunned by the sight of broken pieces.

Among the burning hulls of fifty seven dacarian ships were also the hulls of eight human ships. Six ships from the Los Angeles Class didn’t survive the battle. More than fifteen hundred people died.

The Chien, Nebraska, Repulse, Kursk, Maryland, Dresden and the Gustav were lost almost with all hands.