Space Force by Davidson Aleister

Author:Davidson, Aleister
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Mantis Press
Published: 2021-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

30

Admiral Drex watched the massive, system wide, rings of the Vargon device spool up. He knew it would only be a few minutes before it was time for phase three of their attack. The Vargon bot stood with him in the CIC, alongside a skeleton crew. Every one of them knew it was a one way trip, and every one of them volunteered.

The chancellor had demanded that Drex remain with Admiral Yonk, aboard the Vindicator. He went on a rant about how Crom should command the Kentucky during phase three because they couldn’t afford to lose Drex. They couldn’t afford to lose a fleet admiral. But Drex would not have his first officer go down with the ship while he watched. And so, when the chancellor was safe at the rendezvous point, Drex sent Commander Crom over to the Vindicator in his place. Krell would have no choice but to understand. The man was not a military man, but Drex did know Krell to be a historian. And history was full of captains who went down with their ships.

Drex knew that if the Coalition was going to strike at their fleet then it would be another boarding party attacking through wormholes. He hoped that the chaos that the Ark had sewn would buy him the time to engage the super-weapon, but he wasn’t so lucky.

It was Krynn who had come up with the plan. A plan so simple it was genius. All personnel across the fleet were outfitted with thick rubber soled boots and gloves. The troops who attacked the Kentucky before came in full exosuits, equipped with mag-boots. And it was the same when they came again, following the blow their fleet suffered when the Ark detonated.

When the first Coalition troops appeared, stepping through tears in reality and onto the Republic ships, they were accompanied by the same thick sulphuric smell. And Krynn’s plan enacted automatically. Passively killing every single one of them moments after their arrival. The ships’ life support computers were configured to detect any traces of sulphur in the atmosphere. When they did, power from electrical systems throughout the ship was conducted through the floors, frying the infiltrators in their power armor as the crew remained safe. Protected by their rubber boots. It was as simple a plan as it could be, and it worked with absolute efficiency.

Drex made sure that Krell gave Captain Krynn a medal for that idea. And he laughed to himself as the smell of charred flesh permeated the ship. Dozens of Coalition troops fried in an instant in and around the CIC. When it was over Drex ordered a sitrep from each of the other ships, and was relieved to hear that less than ten had been wounded, and only one killed across the fleet. Krynn’s plan had been a massive success.

“Incoming fire, Admiral. The Coalition battleships’ heavy batteries,” a Master Chief whose name eluded Drex in the moment reported. “Shall we respond?”

“No, we’ll be long gone before their fire is halfway here,” the admiral said, dismissively.

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