encounter at hesperus

8/20/2019 Encounter at Hesperus

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t8

lfO

JUt{E. 23O1

-

Contre-Admiral

Jean-Paul Bertrand's staff announced

that the

Eta

Bootis

Defense

Fleet will

depart to engage the Kafer

yessels

cur-

rently attacking the Hochbaden system

(less

the two Australian

yessels

t

/sr-

rangef an(J Kangaroo, which are still

on

patrol

near Arcturus)-l

F3

JUNE, 2301

-

(excerpt

trom

th e

communicalions fog ot H-rJ.A.,s- Easlr-

range4:

'".-What

do

you

mean

the fleet

went off to Hochbaden? Send a couriel off

ASAP to brang he Detense

FIeet

back- The

whole frigging Kafel fleet dropped into

Arturus to discharge their stutterwarp

drive- They'll be here in a tew daysl"l

[18

JUNE. 23Oi

-

In the Hochbaden

system, the French battleshap Tauyran4

with

contre-Admilal Jean-Paul

Bertrand

onboard, wa s completely destroyed in a

one-on-one

engagement with a Katet

batt leship- Thas eaves he Uklainian com-

mander, Kontr-Admlral Se.gei Sergeayich

Borodin incharge of the combined Earth

Defense Force here an he outea

French Arm ot space.I

fahen from The Ham ao

-Kafef

Uar

btt/ A er Shane,

pab-

23 12-

[21

JUI{E, 2301: 2lO7 hours

GMT

-

Tanstafll Starportl

Two men

stood in the lighted

cloorway

o a

prefab

shelter,one of

many

on thissicte

t

the starport. oth

wore the

typicalkhaki

drill

uniformof

the British

ommonwealth f the 24th

century.

Round

garrison

hats with

black visors, short sleeves,

pressed

slacks,

lack, ow top shoes

polished

to within

a centimeter f their

lives'

completed he

perfect

ecruiting

os-

ter image

hat all military orceswish

to proiect.Oneof the igures ada ot

ol

gold

braict n his visor,anclwas he

one standing

ust

nside he dooMay.

Off in the clistance.

transoort limo.

a

common

sight on colony worlds,

was on final approach o the main

landing ircle or LTAs

Lighter-Than-

Air ehicles).

"Welcome aboarcl,MisterGreen-

wood,"Alexander

sandy'

shane old h e

young

manwho was standingn Shane's

uarters.

Se e

you

on l e Eushrangef

tomorrow.'

one

final

shake f the hands, henGreenwood napped ff

a

sharosalute n

the

line British raclition. hane

returned

t

n

he same

ashion.

Shanewatched he retreating ack of Li eu-

tenantGreenwoocl s he wind uffled oth men's

pressedkhakis.The brown giant Tithonus illed

the

sky

is

if it

were some

god

watching he

strangeworkingsof man on its moon, Aurore.

Appearing ff to the sideof Tithonuswas he

ed

shining clot

of Arcturus,

he

star by

which the

enemy

passes

o reachEtaEootis.

The starport ooked ikeanyold airport n

any

ot lhe hundreds of worlds that man now

inhabited;he

tower

ights lashed heirwarnings

to aircraftanding nd aking lf and ights hined

in o ffices throughout he administration lock.

But this slarport was also the

gfound

base

location of the

United

Nations Soace Fleet

Headquartersand Aurore

(Mission)

Control.

Security eamson foot or in hovercraft

atrolled

the

perimeter

of the starport looking tor any

Kaf rs hatmightstillbe around.

A feminine rmcurleclts wayaround iswaist

anda head

ame o rest

on hisshoulders.

Sandy,

cluty omesearly omorrow."

Shane losed hedoorand u rned o faceBeth

Anderson.

e

stared nlo her ace and encircled

her

nhisarms.

A smile soread across her

face.

"What's

wrong, commodore? Have I broken out in

bloodsucher

pots?"

'Ha,

ha. Haveno fearof that, ass. was ust

thinking

ow

we're ucky ha t we have his time

together efore

oing

backup."

Beth disentangled erself rom hi s arms

to

sleo

back ancl et hi m admire

he view.

A red

ribbon

ying

backher aven

lackhairalsoservect

to trame

her ovely ace.Her

browneyes

shined

with the

glow

of

passion.

Barelycontaining

er

ampls body was a blacksatin and ace bustier

with

g-string

and thigh-high,sheer stockings

hooked p

by

garters.By

he smirk n

your

ace

can ell

you

fike...eve/yth/h9,"ne

softlystated.

Shane miled, ossecl is hat off to a chair

n

thecorner. nd

put

hisarmaroundBeth.

Shallwe

retire to the bedroom and finish

practicing

"ln

my

first briefingwith Bertrancl,

e

playe

down what happened dirtside,"

Shane

said

grimacing.

All

he alked

boutwashis

inal ictor

over

heir leet.'

.That

jerk

couldn'l

indhis own asshole

venf

someone helped.The

Kafers stomped

his as

twicebefore e

nally

ot

hat'victory' f

his."

"Why,

Beth,

darling. o

you

talk

hisway abou

me and othersof

such high rankwith

your

othe

friends?" hane sked, easingly,urning ntohis

side so that he could rest on

an arm and ool

down ntoher ace.

Beth answeredwith a

quick

kiss,

Of

coufs

not, Sandy. 'veonly told

the femalestaflwhat

a

lousy over

ou

canbe

at

imes."

shane collapsed

ack nto bed.

oh

-

well

That'sditferent.t's nice o

know what he entir

squadronhinks f me."

Beth

laughed.

what?

You thought

I wa

serious

about

that? You're more

uptight han

thought

you

were.

How'bout I massage

ou

neck? hat

always elpecl efore."

'Oh,

might as well.YeFterday

| was on€ of

the

greatest

oversof a ll mankind.

onight the

lousiest. ow hemighty

have allen.

'docking

maneuvers, 'ommanden"

"Aye

aye, ir."

Later, he two lovers ested n each other's

armsand staredal the darkened eiling.Finally,

the

quietwas

roken y Beth.

"What

do

you

thinkaboutour new computer

operaton"

heasked.

sandy

hought or a

moment

beforeanswer-

ing. Amazinghathewas able o live hrough he

tirst Kafer

Invasion.

f ever someone

suffered

througha walkabout, e clid.You shoulct ave

seenhis eyesas

he

told me abouthis cousin's

farm northeast

of her€. We

were over

at the

O-Club, tossing back a mug or two,

when

Malcolm old me abouthis cousin, yingafter

their

group

staged n ambush. etweenrying o

hum a

chorusof waluing Matilda, is cousin

quoled:

'/

hope

you

wt// emain

with me

here tt//

am

quite

dead /l is a comlon to knov that

someone

s by.'lt was tolcl to Jo hn King by

Robert o'Hara Burke

n

1861 0n their

failed

explorationf he outback."

"Hearing

bout t from behind he door was

enough fof me. Now it looks liks we're in a

full-blown

arwith hem.'

[22

JUNE, 2301

*

Long

range

sensor

probes

have teporled

the arrival of

the long awaited

Katel

invasion force.

The Aus-

tralaan hips

plus

the three mer-

chant ships hasti ly

l it ted out

with weaponry have

lett orbit lo

engage

a lone Kater battleship

apparently making a

reconnais-

sance of Aurore-

This is one

reporter's

wish of

good

luck and

good

hunting

to the newly

tot-

med colonial Detense

squad-

ron-l

The

Haman-Kafer ]/ar

bf

Alex.thane,

pua-

23t2.

[22

JUNE, 23Ol: 2lO7

houts

GMT

-

Eta

Eootis |

(Hesperus)l

Five hips

oing

ntoHarm'sWay.

The

gas giant

cataloged

s Eta

Bootis

(named

Hesperus y the

irs

humanexplorers)

oomeclever arge

in the view oorts of

the five little

spaceships. wo of

them looke d like hunter

Various hadesof

gray,

white, and

gold

coate

theirhulls.

he

other

hreewere

glaring

white nd

each

as

massive

s a skyscraper.

o an outsid

viewer, he

ive shipswould appear o'blink'

into

existence

n one spot, then blink out,

only to

reappearmillions

f kilometers way; he ef{ect f

vessels sing tutteMarp.

The eadshiowasof lhe Klevdass.Purchase

trom the Russians ix

years

ago, it was a lean

knife-like esign

inetymeters ongwith wo hic

wings

otating

rounclhe uselage ontaining

ho

maiority f the iving

quarters

or

the crew.Along

the main

hull were five twin-laser

mounls and

three missile bays.

Near the

point

of its

needle-fike

prow

was it's name

-

H.M.A.S

Eush/,anger,nd right next to it, the

proud

flagof

Australia.

Bringing

up the rear was a slightly arge

barrel-shapect

ehiclewith huge solar

panels,

he

H.M.A.S.Kangaroo, a ship based

upon an old

French design, mounting

fifteen asers,with a

lander o carry wentymarines

nto combat.Thg

tntee

Hudson

class

cargo carriers were hastily

modified o be warships y

mounting our aser

ENCOUNTER

AT HESPERUS

2300m iction inspired by the

adventure book

"Invasion"



l9

andwerecarryingwo American

IM-14

missile

packs

ach; hreehastily onvertedreighters

ay

overdueon their

maintenance chedules.with

civilian

rews

rying

o

act ike

military

pacers.

Onboarcl he Busnt/ange, he flagship

of the

Aurorean olonialDefense Squadron, ts crew

watched

heir

monitorsclosely or the one Kafer

scout

essel

hat

was

supposed

o

be near

his

world.

In

a

small broom closet

of a

cabin, a

lone

figure n shortssat at his computer erminal.A

mu9

ot

lukewarm

ea

rested

near

the

person's

right

lbow,

waiting o be emptied.

Sandy"

Shane

finished

eading

reporton his computer cfeen

and

aved

t

under he'Ship'sPapers"

ile.

Then,

he calledup a data

teadout

of

the

squadron's

position.

atisfiecl ith his indings, e turnedhis

terminal ff a nd

inished lressingor

duty

as his

mind eviewedhe

current

ituation.

The ittle leel eft he comfortable mbrace

f

Tithonus,a

gas giant

five times larger than

Jupiter. heworlct

f

Aurorewas

officially

istecln

lhestar

tlas

as

EtaBootis

lc

meaning

hat

t was

lhe hirdmoon

orbiting

he

second

planet

of the

EtaBoolisbinary

system).

Eta Boolis

Awas

namedMuohrid ndEtaBootis

B, Rubis The systems two

stars

orbiled ne anotherwith an annual

separat ionl 1.425 U

(Astronomical

Units). hesystem

was

irst visilecl y

the French. n the 2240s,

France,

Ukraine,

nd a cartel of American

corporations

et up a

colony

on the

tidally

locked world now namecl

Aurore.

he colony

grew

n size and

population

n the nexl fifty-eight

years.

Then,on

April 4.

2298,

he

peace

was

shattered. large

leet

nvaded

the

Eta

Bootis

system from

the

general

irect ion f A.cturus, t tack-

ing

hehuman leetand destroyingt.

ByAril

8,

he aliens

ad

begun ancling

on the

planet.

For

three

months,

he

fighting as severeat best,brutaland

d 6 . ^ a r . t d . l

\ r r ^ r c l

T h 6

E . d h f l d ^ r . r

Hochbaden,

he next worldwithin he

7.7 ight

year

range of stutterwarp

vessels

n

the ctirectionof

Earth,

eventually efeatect

he aliens ancl

sent

hem

etreating.

ut

he strandect

Kafers n the

planet

fought on

for

another

ear,

waiting

for

reinforcements. ver

300,000

eople,

mostly civilians, ied n thatwar.

The

economy

was

shattered.Citizens

f

Aurore

developed blooctlust gainst

he

Kafers.

f a

citizen

f

Aurorewas

askecl

ow

to

fight he

war

against

he

Kafers,

typical

answerwould

be to

round p the bloody lot and do awaywith them

on a

scale

hat

would

have

made

the ancient.

infamous

itler

reen

withenvy.

CommodoreShane eflected ver the recent

past

on

the

fringe of

human

space. For three

years

we have

stat/oned

an

ntemallona/

fleet

n

th/ssystem. Eertrand d/dn't even tly to sed{ out

tlte a//ens,

Ust

keep tnem away from the co/ony.

Adm/n/

Eorodn

ttrs

supposed to

be a tacfi?a/

genlus.

buthedldn'l wanl

lo

maleanywaves.

Shanemumbled o himself nderhis breath,

"The

German ommodoreWilhelm

utke

s about

the most aggressiveot us all.

And

then

the

American, ear

Aclmiral

avid

Farragut

arker

buthe'sa little oo concernedwith

seeking

lory

ratherhan

protecting

Aurore.'

gut

lhe

lhreeolus

agree

that

the lrght lor Ela B@tls shou/d

be

tnged

at

Arcturus. /Vorv8e/'t/and

nad b

go

of

ind /eaye me to

plolect

tlre who/e

system

tuth

an

ad hoc

squadron. whal

b/oody foo/s the

lot

ol

lhem

aret

Shane

tepped

utof

his

quarters

ncl ntered

the

small

companionway hat was

painted

n

green

andbrownearth ones.From here

t wasa

shortdislance o the hub and he entry

way nto

the null-0ravity

part

ol the

clestroyer.

Once

through,

e

grabbed

nto

he'fireman

ole,"

hen

moved

hand

over

hand

to the TacticalAction

Center

(known

simply as TAC) of

H.MA.S.

Busnrange/,.lexander hane, lean, il gentle-

man

in his

late fifties with sveaks of silver

beginningo appear n

his blonde

hair,

loated

through he hatchwaywith

the

grace

of a ballet

dancer n

zero-g

and

pulled

himself

nto

the

command hair.Shanewas f i l l ing n as

acting

caplainol lhe Bushrangelwhile aptain

O'Conner

recovered

rom wounds

suffered at Arcturus.

Shane

was

dressed in the same

off

white

coveralls hat some how

harkened

ack

o

the

AlphaCentauriWar n appearance;ank

lisplayed

on the

collar

abs,

Ship

and Destroyer livisi on

patches

laced

n chest

andupper eftarmbelow

the

Australian lag

patch.

Zippercd

pockets

covered

lmost

he

entir€

utf t,usually mpty.

On Shane's ighlwas he computer pe rator,

Lt. MalcomGreenwood,

n

individual iminutive

in appearance,ut long on intell igence;ma n

who

had endured he rigors f the Kafer nvasion

the first time aroundwhile on leave.Along he

cabin's

walls

were

oiher

comouter

onsoles nd

their

perators. t.Richard emmonsmanned he

Fire

Control

computer

while severalChiefPetty

Officers perated he RemoleControl onsoles

that

guicted

he smart

missiles

nd

sensor

rones.

EnsignJudy Mayeroperated he main sensors

console.

All

were

rugged

ndivictuals,

he tinest

examples

t

Australian

eritage.

"All

right

mates,

where s the little buggen"

Shane sked hile ucklingimself

n.

Lemmons

answered,

Dfone

numbet wo still

has

a

positive

rack t the arget.t s closing n on

Hesperus.t looks

ike the Kafersare

going

to

sling hot

arouncl

t o

arrive

t

Tithonus.'

'Nothing

about

the r€sl of the enemy leet,

Mayen"

"Not

a

peep,

Captain.

guess

hey're

waiting

on heir

mate's

eoort.'

Malcom

ut

n,

"As

ar as I can cletermine.

ir .

we are still n

theirsensorshadow.The

basta(c

haven't martened

p

yet."

Malcom

was eferring

o

one ot the ew

know

factsabout

he enemy

hat

humans n

the colon

world abeled

as

'Kafers.'

These

wo meter-ta

non-human

ipedswere

real

kil l ing

machine

The

backs

of their heads

and

torsos

wer

protected

y a

ough,

horny

carapace. heir ma

eyeswere ecessed nder

argebrow idges,

n

theirmouths

bore

an impressive

rray

of hooks

needles,siphons, and mandibles hat allowe

them

to

impale, ear, cut,

shred,

chew,

suck

handle,

nd

partially

igest heir ood. Their

hanc

wer

equipped

with three mutually

opposin

thumbs nd

acked

hestrength f a human's

rip

butweresurprisinglyexterous

or

a creature

it

a reputation

or being

stupid

andstrong.

ince h

first

encounter

everal

ears

ago n this

verysam

system, umans ad wondered

why

t took

a few

seconds

or

even onger o resonct

o

an attac

But, when a Kaferclid respond, t

was as if th

creature

ad

suddenly

been

transformed

nto a

cunning,

nnovative,

nd

deadly

pponent.

Lt. Greenwood

knew about these

creature

from

personal

experience.He was a

member of

the famous

'Ramro

Teams'

operated by the

city o

Tanstaafl.everalimes, ehad oun

himself n close

combat with

thes

creatures. one

of those

imes

wer

very

pleasant

was what

sandy

wa

tolcl.

Shane ooked at the computer

generated

acticalon the big

scree

The

whole solar systemwas

laid ou

anct

rbital

mechanics

were

ust

hap

pening

to help

the

defenders

o

Aurore. ithonus

was

on the

opposit

side of the twin suns from

Arcturu

The Kafer fleet appeared

to be

discharginghe

static

buildup

n

the

stutteMarpctrives

ear

Eta Bootis

V

Astraeus,

small

as

giant.

'This

lone

Kafer ship is

eithe

scouting he way or has an anxiou

^a^ t . : ^

"

Sh.^o

cl2 lo.l

Mi l^6m nn.l

ded

n

agreement.

The

Commoclore

thumbed

his

headset mike

button on

anct

said

"Briclge,Shane here. Sound Battl

Stations. Commander

Foster.

Plo

intercept ourseanclmakebestspee

to target." Then, turning lowards Lt. Lind

Fairchild,

Call

up the other shipsanc,have

hem

go

to Battls

Stations.

nformAuroreControl

ha

we

arenowengaginghe oneKaferwarship.'

"Aye

aye,

Commodore,'Lt. airchild

eplied.

The target

that

the small human fleet

was

heading

or

was

a large,

dirty,

green-colorec

multi-spherical

raft hat had been ctentified

s

a

battleship

ode-namectA/pha. his inlormatio

was lashingn the ower ight-hand ornerof the

bigdisplay

creen.

"Time?"

skedShane.

"2118

ours, ir," t.Greenwoodesponcled.

'Lt.

Fairchilct,ell the merchant

captains

o

launch

one

missile

pack

each, and we

will take

care

f the

guidance

nstructions.'

"Aye

aye, ir,'

he

ieutenantepliect.

Mayer's

oicewent up a note,

"Drone

s now

reporting

that target is an

'lmprovecl

Alpha

battleship.

t

s

aunching

ixmissiles."

Shane

ookect ver

to Greenwoocl.

Have he

merchants

aunched

he sim-14s

yet?'

'We're

getting

two

from lne Hasegawa and

one rom

the

Bangkok.

Kangarooislelling us tha

the

DonsMayllas aunchecl

wo.'



20

'Tell

Kangaroothat we

will handle anti-missile

tire

control while the rest of the

squadron

fires

their lasers

at the battleship,' Shane ordered,

focusing ackon the actical

lot

screen.

Even

with missiles equipped with stutteMarp,

time can

clragby while waiting or the

incoming

strike.Yet t

can lash by too

quickly

o respond

o

the situation.

PeEona/U

thought

Shane, /

peler

to hght by

Emote contro/. Wou/dn't t4zrnt o fighl hand to

hand

wrth a Kafec not aftel t+/ratMa/com

bld me.

Aloud,

Bridge,

bring us about 275 mark

190."

Turning

o look at Malcom Greenwood, e saict,

'Onca

the

freighters have unloacled

all their

missiles,

have hem fall benindKangalooancl

us.'

'l

have received reports that the three

treighters

havs fired off the

first

pack

of thr€e

missiles

ach,'Malcom epliecl.

Lemmons pokeup now.'l've used hreeSlMs

to block

ths incoming Kaler missiles one-

for-one. The

othershavs so far macle t oast he

counter-battery

fir€

-

clamn

Spoke too Soon,

there

goes

another

ne of ours.'

Out n space, he

en meter ong silver ubesof

cleath

clos8d in on their

resoective

targets and

explodsd. nvisible aser

beamspumpedup to gigawatt ower

via their

own nuclear c,estruction,

cutting

nto human and alien

vessels

alike.

The Hasegat+a was

like a

massivg

lockof wooc, hat

some

god

had aken

a

power

drill o.

Alexander

Shanestareclat the clata

readouts

oming n

over his compuler

screens.

he alienbattleshio

ost one

of

its four rotating

'arms'

that he

assumect

rovided

artificial

ravity

n

the

same manneras

such deviceson

humanvessels.

nd some hull

plating

would eventually

oin

the small,

hin

ring

of clebris rbiting

his

planet.

He

peered

verat

Malcom.'well,mister,

guess

we

showed

em

a

g'clay,

hat?"

A smile appeareclon Malcom's

previously rim

ace.'Aye,sir.Thatwe

dict. we've

taken some

minor hull

ctamage.

angarooloo\ an engine

hit,

power piant

ouput reduced by thirty

percent."

'What

about he reighters?'

hane

askect.

Did

they

get

all thearmissiles

off?"

"No,

sir. Hasegatn

didn't

get

hers off Also,

Hasegatn took

most of the incoming

missiles.

She's

heavilydamaged n

engineering nct he

toMard

hull s

iust

so much

swiss cheesenow.

Mayer,

n sensors,was elling

me hat Hasegirwa

is osingatmospheric

ressure.'

Malcomdirected

his attention

to communications.

Lieutenant

Fairchilcl,

aise the Hasegawa or

an updated

damage sport."

'Will

do. sir.'

Shane

ubbeclhis eyes,

hen ocusect n the

plot

baord.

Tell

those other wo

lreighterso fire

off

the estol those

missiles

Again,Lt. Fairchilcl

orked her

comm

board,

carrying ut herorders.

Commodore

Shane

alledup the vicleo mage

ot lne Hasegatn

on one ot the smallermonitors

at hisconsole. ce

crystals railed ehind he huge

spacecraft rom

the engineering/crew

uarters

like the smoke

trail an airolane eaves behind

when

shot down. The briclge

ower was nothing

but

a blackened tump

of metal.

Linda,"

e said

quietly,

have

the

Dons Maypick up any survivors

oll the Hasegawa,

ancl inform

Aurore Control

about

her.'

Greovvoodnterrupted.'Commoclore,

nother

group

of missiles nbound '

within

seconds,

lasers

from the

alien

battleship

impactect he

Eushnngea

iatrin

g

everybody.

'Continue

tracking ho bastardand

have hose

freighters irs otf all remaining

missiles. asers

Fireott anothersalvoat himl'

bafiecl

Shane.

The human flset

plunged

cleeper nto the

gravity

wellot the

gas giant

after he enemy,

who

was attemptingo hide n the thin ce ring about

Hesperus,

ac,ingaserfire ll heway.

'TAC,

this s bridgs,' Fostercalled.

That

last

laser

barrage reduced us to

quarter power

and

number hree aser urrst s completely

one.'

'Damn,

mutteredLemmons.

Damage

Con-

trol,Lemmons. ow com€

status f number hree

laser has not been

calleclup to TAC?' Whatever

ths answerwas, nly hs ieutenant

eard t.

Shane

eyscl is mike.'Vsrywell,Commander

Foster.Carryon.'

'Commodore,'

Malcom

callecl ut,

the

Kafsr

has hidden n tho rin g. He's

gone

cleadon us.

We'renot dstecting nything n

oursensors.'

Shane ubbedhis brow,

hen cailedup to the

briclge again.

'Foster,

have Lt. commander

Zeigler

lot

a

search

attern

n the rings.Close o

within

10,000 licksol ths last reportecl

osition

of

that

battleshio.'

'Will

do, Commodore,' osterrsplied.

Malcomstared houghtfully

t shane.

com-

moctors,hat Kafer

has now had enough i me o

analyze

our attack.The bloke is

getting

smarter.

This ooks ikea Vap.'

"l

know,

Lieutenant.'ltooks ikea trao o me as

well. But we

just

can't hang around out here

wating or

it to come backout ancl

play.'

shane

directed is attention

o Ensign

Mayer. n

he red

light of the TAC

center, she ap pearecl o be

gettingpanicky.

Ensign,

I want

you

to be really

alertnow.

Can'thave hatbastard howuo on our

rearallot a sudden, ow

can

we?"

Judy turned

o tace him,

sweat

glistening

n

her fair lace.

"Don't

you

worry, sir.

That Kafer

won't everhave he

chance

o closomething

ike

thatwithme around."

'Now

thats the spiri t, Mayer.Don't

let

'em

intimidate

ou

and

you'll

do fine,'Shane aid

with

a smlle,noticing

hat his

worcls act he

expected

eflectasshoappeared omewhat almer.

uckily,

she coulch't

see his knees behind

his console.

They wers

pumping

ike mact,

as if shane was

trying o inflatea blimp

all by himselfback home

on his anch.

The two warshios

losed n on the

woundecl

Kafer,with the freighterEangkokaclually

keeping

station off ot Kangar@s

port

side,

whils her

sister ship, lhe Dons

/Vaj1 tecoveted both

the

livingand dead

olt the Hasegzn+a.

'Lemmons,

how many missiles as our friend

outthere iredoff

so far?'Shane sked.

Lookingup from

his computer screen,

Lieu-

tenant L€mmons answsred, "Fourteen

in all,

whichmeans s should

havssix eft.'

'Mayer,

what about our

clrones. te they still

arouncl?"

'Only

NumberOne

now, sir. And it's dama-

ged. '

'send

it on

nto he ings.want hatKaf€r.'

'Yes,

sir.'

I23

JUNE, 23O1:. O142

GMT

-

Ot f

Hesperus'sRingsl

It took the Aurorean

Colonial

Defense ouaclron

lmost our and

a

halfhours o find any newsignsof the

Dafer

battlaship, and lne

Bangkol(

suffered

greatly

when three

Kafer

missiles,

rogrammed

o

act like ike

mines, suddenly

came to lifg anct

spearect he huge

ship on invisible

lancesof nuclear

energy.severalhits

in the

power plant

area causecl he

Eangkok to explode,

killing all

onboarcl. he EMP

pulse

of the ship's

nuclear eactor xp loding lossomed,

then

quickly

adecl.

Beforeanyone could

even mourn

the loss, Mayer callgclout,

'l've

got

'em

357 mai/.O47.

e's coming right

at us ' sh e exclaimed,

her voice

raising n

pitch

in the heat

of the

moment.

On

he TAC

display creen,the lip

thatwas he Kaferwarship

was moving

on an ntercept ourse

with he human

souadron.

haneswitchedone of his

video monitors to long range scan

and input the coordinates of

the

enemy. on

ths small screen, the

wounded

giant

climbed maiestically

out of the

plane

of the ring'sorbit.Shanenoticed

that the

enemy battleship

ad

sufferecl

maior

blowout n the orwardspherearea.

'All

weaponsare o tire anclkeep on fi ring

il l

the

ubesmelt.Hit'em ' shaneordered.

Lieutenant emmons and the

petty

officers

underhis controldirected heir emainingmissiles

at ths onrushing arget.The ightsdimmed as he

ship's aserswsnt into action. Lemmonshere.

Assign

mount four as close in, ant i-missile

battery.'

Greenwoor t

spoke up.

"Commoctore ,

Kangaloonas

iust

lost her starboard solar

panel.

Her anderhas

also been hit. She's

ettisoning

t

just

n case t might

explocle."

"Acknowleclgecl.

hat s he clamage eport

on

Hasegatld?"

'They're

repairing

he hrusters o

get

the ship

back underway

to

Aurore. She may

yet

be

salvagable."

At that

moment,

a Kafermissile xOlocled

nd

all of

its

pre-targeted

beams impacteclon

the

Bushranger,

lowingoff one of its missilebays

ancl the

deepsystem

scanner, ancl hitting

the

forward

hull

and one of the rotating imbs. The



2l

sensor

eedback aused he console

o

blow up

jn

Judy Mayer's ace.

Lt.

Fairchild

alled or

a

medicaleam

o

come

to takecareof the

young

woman

as commodore

shane unbuckleclrom

his hair

nd

grabbed

fireext inguishero

help

one of

the

petty

officers

put

out the electrical

otaze.

Thick mokesoon filled

he

red ighted oom.

Coughing,

hane tarted

o ordereveryoneo

put

on heir xygenmasks, ut heyhad alreactyone

so.

Hesettled ack nto his

chairand ook

his

own

advice.

"Bridge,

hanehere.Put our

bow on

to

that

batt leshipnd

keepus

ike

hat.Don't et 'em

ge t

our

rotile

gain."

"Undersloocl,

ommodore.

We're having o

stop he

gravity

rumnow because f

vibrations,"

within wohours.'llbe n my

cabin."

"Very

appy o do so,sir.'

[23

JU[E. 23{)1: o2O1hours

GMT

-

Eta

Eootis

|

(Hesperus)l

Feeling

ike he

rock of ages,shane eturned

to

hisoffice/cabin. he

gravity

fum

wasstopped,

awailing epairs,

o

he

tloatecl

hrough

what he

crew abeledas The MainGate' and down he

companionway o his

quarters.

sweat

stains

underhis

arms

matched hoseof

the

othercrew

members hat he

passed

n

the

companionway.

Finally, e

arrived t

his

cabin.For a minute

r

so

he

just

heldonto the

nearbyhanclhold,hen

slict

the

hinmetal

anel

ot

a dooropen,enterect,hen

slid

t back nto

place.

He allowed imself

o

calm

down, readying

himself

to

write those

clamn

CANSHARE BOTTLE F

VODKA NDYO U

CANRELATE HATHASHAPPENED

T

ETABOOTIS.

Then,after eadi ng he

irst etter,Shane alledup

thesecondand

began o read.

TOCOMMODOREALEXHANE

FROM EAR DMIRAL

.

F.

PARKER:

SANDY OUOLDOUTBACKUSSIE ASTARD.

HOGGINGLLTHEGLORYSUSUAL. T

LEAST HIS IME

OUSAVED

OME

ORUS ,

SEE

YOUBACKON

AURORE.

Alexander

Shane smiled while readin g

the

messages. wo very

different

ndivictualsaluting

him

or

a

Jb

welldone.He

aid

down on

his bunk

and staredat the ceiling.The

question

hat

al l

warriors face raced through his

mind. one thal even

the

first cave-

man must have hought

after

killing

his ellowman.

"why?"

shane askedhis com-

puter

erminal. e didn't

expect

an y

aswers

o

be forthcoming

rcm

il. /t s

a// we// and

good,

ne

$ougn\ that

we fnd a need lo c/or+n around

amongsl ourse/ves

to

he/p ease lhe

bulden

ol

ouf deeds. And to

gieve

oler our

comlzrdes

and

usl

maybe,

a vo/thy

opponent

/l doesn7 mate

much

sense

-

but

it

ts

a

comlorl.

And

genen/U

we are not

/rearfless,

it /s s/mp/y that we a/e a//

uat/ms

o/

t{ar

The Commodore

got

up and

went back o ship'sbusiness. etters

to wri te, reporls o

fill

out. And for

tonight at least,

the citizens

of

Aurore

could

rest without fearing

another nvasion.But he

was

inter-

rupted y a knockat

his

door.

"Come

n,"

Shane aid.

Beth Anderson slid open the

panel

nd

ooked

n.

Shane

ould ell

even rom wherehe sat hat shewas

lired. Har brown

eyes wBre recl;

ruptured blood vessels

from the

brief

exposure o vacuum.Sheclictn'

say anything,

ust

entered

he cabin

andcloseclhe

door behindher.

Sandy

wavedher

over o

him

and

pulled

er nto his ap.

You

can

et

go

now,

Beth,'he

whisperednto

her

ear,and

hey both helcl ne anoth€r

close.

IFROM

THE

S|EGE OF ETA AoOTTS

-

23

JUilE. 23Ol

-

The Aurorean Colonaal

Detense Squadron engaged a Kafel

battleship,

destroyang it at

a

cost ol

one

ship destroyed

and another

badly

dama-

ged-

saxty-seven

are listed as

killed

an

action,

twenty-three

wounded- Five are

missing,

presumed

dead.

-

Borodin's

fleet

has

ar.iyed

back in

the Eta

Bootis system

early

this morning

to

engaoe elements

ot

the Kafer tleet now

tagged

'Task

Force

X-Ray.'

driyin0

them

away.l

nte Hsman-KatcLlfar

by

Alrx Shane,

pab.2312-

*

Commander

ndersoneolied.

Shane oulcl ell

somethingwas

wrong.

Beth,

s

somethingwrongup

there?"

'Yes

sir.Commanders

oster nd

Rhocles

reclead. hey

theywere

fighting fife

here on the bridge

whenhe orward

tarboard

iewport

washit.

Both

of

them were sucked

oul before he a utomaticviewoort

shield l id into

olace."After more

than wo

hundred

ears

of

livingand

working

n space, most

people

would

still

call

a blow out being

'sucked

out '. There was

a

slight

pause

efore

she

continued. zei-

gler

nd

areholding n and

he ship

isstill nswering

he helm."

At

/east

Eetn ls

st///

a//ue.

Snane

thought.

Okay

Commander, e wilt

grieve

after

the ba tfle. Not n ow.

You're irst

Otf icer now. Tactical

oul."

Then.

averting

is

attention

o

Ll. Greenwood,

Malcom,

Swiclch

sensor onlrol

o

your

board.Status

on heKafen"

"Looks like our missiles have

totalled

isengines. e s

ust

coast

ing

now;stutteMarp

missions

ead

zero.

ThP commancl

Focl

looks

totally

estroyed."

"Commodore.

message

coming

in

rom Aurore," t. Fairchild epor,

ted.

"Kontre-Admiral

orodin and

the rest

of the lleet

have

just

returned

o the system.

They are

nowheading

or Astraeus

and

the

remaining

af r

vessels."

Two Mecl-Techs trail ing

a

casualty

asket

popped

open

the

hatchand

propellecl

hemselvesover to

the

slumped

igure

of

Judy Mayer.

caretuily, hey

strapped

er nto the

basketand eft

as

quietly

s

they ntered.

shane ooked at the

time readout on the

bulkhead

all. t ead:

156 23JUNE 301Then

he

ooked

ver at Greenwood.

ls

that battleshio

dead

eP"

Greenwood

nodded.

"Yes

sir. Still

getting

someife orm

reaclings,ut

all

power

generation

systems

re

eading

t

?ero evels."

"Lt.

Fairchild,

irect he Kangarootoclose

and

send

ver

a

boarcling

arty

o

capture

hat

hing."

Theywere ooking

at the video

screens

when

the

magnified

iewof theirdefeated nemy

blew

up nto

millions

f

pieces.

"Then

again, Lieutenant,maybe not. stand

down

trom

Battle Stations and inlorm

the

squadron

o

turn

back

owardsAutore.

wanta full

damageeport

put

together or

my inspection

letters every

military commander

sometimes

finds himself

having

o

write. A beep soundect

from

his

personal

omputer.

Over

he intercom,

Lt. Fairchilclpoke, Sir, have wo messagesor

you.

One from Admiral

Borodin, he

other rom

Aclmiral arker.'

"Send

em

on

down to my computer,

Lieu-

tenant."

'Already

waiting or

you,

sir.Fairchilctut."

Tapping

a

tew

keys

and entering is security

code, he dark

green

screencame o life,

illing

withamberwords.

TOCOMMODORE

LEXANDER

HANE,

AUSTRALIAN

AVY. MDR CDS

FROM ONTR_ADMIRAL

.S.BORODIN:

EXTENDO

ALL NYOUR

OMMAND Y

HEARTFELT

RATITUDE

NDPRIDENTHE

SUCCESSFYOUR

ISSION, ILOOK

FORWARD

TO

A

MORE

QUIET

TIMEWHEN

WE

KIEV-class

Destroyer

LENGTH

90

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