Three Square Meals Ch. 095

Galen switched his attention to the creeping menace of the Kintark bombers. With no Terran fighters available to intercept them, the enemy bombers had caught up to the limping Caerus and its escorting cruisers. Expecting to see a wave of torpedoes launched at long range, he shook his head in bewilderment when the bombers kept on going, flying closer and closer to the Terran ships.

The Kintark pilots were either recklessly brave or the greenest of rookies, because they sailed right into range of the Gatling Laser defence grids, seemingly oblivious to the danger they presented. The five Terran ships sprayed them with a hail of laser bolts, and Galen almost felt sorry for the Kintark bomber crews as they were lashed by that storm. His jaw dropped when the bombers seemed to shrug off the ferocious salvo of orange laser fire, only two of the first dozen ships exploding under that barrage.

The bombers unleashed their torpedoes almost at point-blank range, the green strike craft peeling away at the last moment and almost riding the blast wave of the ensuing explosions. The torpedo strikes were devastating when fired with that accuracy and the four cruisers were blown to pieces as each was struck by a brace of torpedoes near the lower stern, rupturing their power cores. The battleship fared little better, the explosions shattering the last two functional engines, leaving the Caerus adrift without propulsion.

What had started as a trickle of Kintark cruisers, carriers, and battleships had turned into a flood, as the green armada arrived en masse. Galen felt a shiver of fear run down his spine when he saw the sheer number of lizard ships invading Terran Space.

Maddox obviously felt it too, his eyes widening in fright as he stared off-screen at the holographic map on the Medusa's Bridge. A trio of Terran cruisers was caught up by a second wave of bombers, their defensive Gatling Laser fire having little to no effect, as the Kintark fired single torpedoes at each, destroying their engines in a series of ferocious detonations. Now left adrift, the Terran cruisers had no chance of escaping the packs of Kintark cruisers that fell upon them afterwards, blowing them apart in a cascade of green plasma bolts.

All too aware of the bombers snapping at the heels of his scattered fleet, Maddox whirled around to look frantically at the holo-screen. "We need support Goddammit!" he snapped, his nostrils flaring in anger. "All the ships at Port Medea form up on the Medusa, I want you to escort us to the station!"

Galen blinked as he realised he was being given an order, shaking himself from his shocked daze. By reflex he turned to his helmsman, preparing to order him to set course across the system to escort the harried fleet back to the starport.

"Belay that order, Captain Skotari, Captain Tovaskaya," Captain Fowler said sternly, drawing stunned looks from his two friends.

"How dare you question my orders, Captain!" Maddox roared, his fear temporarily forgotten as he shook with rage. "I'll have you court-martialled for this... treason!"

Ignoring the apoplectic Commodore, Fowler leaned closer, his eyes hard as steel as he stared at his friends. "Port Medea, Maddox's fleet... they're all doomed. There's nothing we can do to save them from that many Kintark ships. We have to get out of here while we still can and warn High Command what's coming..."

Galen turned to look at the map and it only took one glance at the massive enemy armada to realise his friend was right. The Kintark cruisers had caught up to the Caerus and were hammering the becalmed battleship with plasma cannon salvos. The flickering green fires that had bracketed the Caerus now turned into a raging inferno, every gunport and bay door gouting flames as the vessel was consumed by that terrible blaze. The rest of the Terran forces were only half way to Port Medea and would never be able to escape from the system, now that the Kintark had strike craft supremacy.

His heart lurched in his chest at the thought of abandoning all those personnel aboard the fleet, as well as on the massive Terran starport. Straightening in his seat, Galen tried to keep the shock and regret from his voice as he said firmly, "Lieutenant Goodwell, set course for the Core Worlds."

The young helmsman stared at him wide-eyed with fright, his nervous gaze darting to Commander Hoplander. Her curt nod had him turn stiffly to face his console and in a shaking voice he said, "Course set, Sir..."

"Traitors!" Maddox screamed, his voice shrill with terror. "Cowards! I'll see you bastards shot for this! Every one of you, just mark my wor-"

The Commodore's tirade came to an abrupt end, his image on the holo-screen replaced by static. Galen gave his communications officer a grateful nod, then glanced at the System Map to see the Thanatos peeling around to form up on the Antaeus' flank, while the Hesperus followed close behind.

They were joined by the squadron of three destroyers, all intent on escaping from the firestorm of destruction that was consuming the Terran ships in Iota Leonis. The destroyers formed a defensive cordon around the light carrier and the small flotilla of ships setting course for the jump point out of the system.

There was a shocked silence on his cruiser's bridge as they watched the Kintark forces systematically disabling then destroying the Terran fleet. The scattered cruiser groups were being easily picked off, and the two battleships had been struck by multiple torpedoes too, the huge Terran warships besieged by Kintark cruisers as they tried to limp to the starport.

Lieutenant Serrano went pale as he turned to look up at the Command Podium, his hand shaking as he held it to the commlink in his ear. "The Kintark aren't taking any prisoners! They're ignoring all pleas for surrender!"

Galen's blood ran cold as he saw a trio of Kintark battleships draw within range of the Terran capital ships. They began pounding the burning Terran vessels with blistering volleys of heavy plasma fire, the Terran shields buckling under the onslaught. Both Terran ships fired back with broadsides of Beam Laser fire, but even with their combined firepower they weren't able to breach the shields of the lead Kintark battleship.

"Oh my God!" Camilla exclaimed, pointing fearfully at the map. "It can't be..."

"What is it?" Galen blurted out in alarm, his eyes darting about the system map, trying to see what had frightened her so badly.

Then he saw it.

Measuring over three kilometres in length, there was no mistaking the distinctive shape of the hulking Terran Federation dreadnought that had just jumped into the system... Only this behemoth was no longer a titanium grey, it was now green and gold, just like the rest of the formation of ships that surrounded it. It turned towards Port Medea accompanying the Kintark armada towards the last bastion of Terran Federation strength in the Dragon March.

"Fuck me..." Galen muttered under his breath as the Terran forces were torn apart in an orgy of destruction.

The Terran carrier groups with the Medusa were running at full engine burn towards Port Medea, but they weren't able to move fast enough to flee from the Kintark bombers.

"I can't watch this any more!" Camilla gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she saw the Plutus struck by a torpedo.

Her friend's light carrier trembled with the impact, engines blown to pieces by the thunderous detonation. It listed to one side, personnel and debris thrown into space from the terrible rents in its hull.

"Ah shit! We've got incoming!" Captain Fowler barked, pointing a finger at the map.

With all their attention on the carnage in the Iota Leonis system, they'd missed the pair of sensor contacts directly ahead of them. The incoming ships jumped into the system, revealing themselves to be green-armoured Kintark cruisers, the Relkan'tor, and the Vorkin'tor.

"Where the hell did they come from?!" Galen exclaimed, staring at them aghast.

Camilla wiped the tears from her eyes. "They must have snuck around the lines somehow... It must have been them that took out the Comms beacons!"

"Focus Beam Laser fire on the closest," Fowler called out. "Once their shields are down, start hitting them with Heavy Cannons. Then we switch to knocking out the second's shields!"

Galen nodded curtly, then glanced at his Tactical Officer. "Lieutenant, open fire!"

The short sandy haired man took careful aim with their cruiser's array of eight beam lasers, sending orange columns of energy slashing across the Kintark vessel.

"Nice shot, Jensen," Galen said approvingly as they hit with six of the eight beams. "Get ready with the Heavy Cannons..."

A second later, the Thanatos struck with their Beam Lasers, the Kintark shields pulsing in concentric circles at the energy weapons' caress.

Galen was expecting to feel the tremble of his ship's big guns a moment later, but when nothing happened for several seconds, he darted a sharp look at his tactical officer. "Lieutenant, the Heavy Cannons!"

Jensen whipped his head around, a baffled expression on his face. "Their shields are still up, Sir!"

Shaking his head, Galen replied, "The Kintark shields aren't that strong, they should have gone down!"

"He's right, Captain!" Chief Engineer Makins exclaimed, pointing to the scan results for the Kintark cruiser. Sure enough, the readout was still showing active shields in place around the cruiser Relkan'tor.

The Relkan'tor returned fire with its Plasma Cannons, sending a steady stream of green plasma bolts at the Antaeus. Fortunately, the two Kintark cruisers were much less disciplined with their shooting, not focusing fire on the same target as the Terran ships had. Its companion began to shoot at Captain Fowler's cruiser, splitting their firepower.

Galen smiled with relief, realising they must be facing novice crews. "Okay, as soon as we hit medium range, light them up with the Laser Cannons, then hit them again with another Beam Laser barrage."

"Our shields are taking heavy damage, Captain!" Makins warned him. "I heard some of the Kintark ships have got state-of-the-art heatsinks; those Plasma Cannons hit hard!"

"Easy Chief, we've got him now," Galen said with a confident grin, watching as the firing arcs for the Antaeus' Laser Cannons overlapped the front-running Kintark cruiser. "Open fire, Jensen!"

The young tactical officer shared his Captain's grin, and pulled the trigger on both weapon controls, unloading with their Laser Cannon batteries. A hail of orange laser bolts struck the Kintark's shield, but oddly, there were no ripples from the impacts.

"What the fuck?!" Jensen swore, his eyes widening in fear. "No effect! The Laser Cannons didn't even dent their shields!"

"That's impossible..." Galen murmured, staring at the seemingly invulnerable ship.

Meanwhile, the Kintark continued to spray plasma fire along the length of the Antaeus, overloading their shields in a flare of green light.

Makins grimaced at the damage control display. "Shields out, we're taking hits to the armour!"

Leaning forward in his Command Chair, Galen clenched the armrests in an iron grip. "Hit them with the Beam Lasers!"

Jensen was staring at the heat dissipation display, watching as the heat was leeched away from their Beam Lasers by the heatsinks. The second they shifted from red to green, he took careful aim and opened fire with their eight Beam Lasers. It was another great shot, with six orange lances of energy scything across the Kintark shields, the beams crossing the simultaneous salvo from the Thanatos.

Jensen gaped at the tactical display. "How? There's no way..."

To Galen's horror, he could see that the Kintark cruiser was still shielded. Their shields had weakened in strength, but had still not been knocked out, rendering his most powerful guns completely impotent. The Hesperus opened up with its own Beam Lasers, the light carrier hitting the Relkan'tor too and further weakening its shield. Galen's cruiser suddenly shook with an explosion, the vibration sending a shiver of fear up his spine.

"We lost one of the Heavy Cannons!" Makins called out. "Plasma fires on Deck Three!"

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Galen barked at his helmsman, the Lieutenant rushing to follow his orders. With the Laser Cannons seemingly ineffective and the Heavy Cannons useless, the Antaeus was left with only one set of weapons it could use against the Kintark cruiser. "Dodge all that shit they're throwing at us, then line up another shot with the Beam Lasers in ten seconds!"

The two Kintark cruisers continued to pour fire on the Terran vessels, Galen's drastic turn giving him a brief respite from the lethal Plasma Cannon barrages. Captain Fowler had tried a different tactic, pushing more power to his weapons and overcharging the cruiser's Laser Cannons. They were finally starting to do some damage to the Relkan'tor's shields, but the lack of power to the engines left them vulnerable to much more accurate plasma fire from the Kintark cruiser's sister ship.

"Captain, the Thanatos!" Commander Hoplander warned Galen, her voice laden with dread.

Glancing at his friend in the holo-display, Galen's heart lurched when he saw the Bridge behind Captain Fowler. Green plasma fires were raging in the background, the Thanatos having taken critical damage from the Vorkin'tor.

"Andy! Get out of there!" Camilla cried out, her face showing the same shock and horror that Galen felt.

Captain Fowler gave his friends a brave smile, then ducked as bits of the ceiling collapsed around him. "It's up to you two now; warn High Command!" Turning to his helmsman, Andrew barked, "Punch it!"

Chief Engineer Makins looked up in shock. "They're activating hyper-warp! Brace for impact!"

"Andy, no!" Galen shouted.

"It's been nice knowing you, buddy," Andrew said, waving at his friend one final time. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Relkan'tor, then laughed and flipped them the middle finger with both hands. "Fuck you!"

The Thanatos surged into hyper-warp then tore across space, slamming into the Kintark ship an instant later. A devastating explosion ripped apart both vessels, sending out a huge blastwave that sent the undamaged Kintark cruiser tumbling away, its shields glowing bright red with the strain. The blastwave smashed into the Antaeus a split-second later and Galen felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer as he was hurled out of his chair.

Everything went black, then he was vaguely aware of someone shouting his name.

"Captain Skotari!... Galen, wake up!"

He felt a sharp pain in his ribs and he rolled over with a groan, finding himself slumped against the left wall of the Bridge. Emergency lighting cast a creepy red glow over the hellish scene, with large sections of the ceiling collapsed and more than one console burning. As he staggered upright, he saw that the right side of the bridge had been flattened, breaking Jensen's neck at tactical and crushing Commander Hoplander under tons of titanium and steel.

While Galen was coughing from the smoke in the air, a bright burst of green light illuminated the wrecked bridge, drawing his attention to the flickering holographic images. The Vorkin'tor was closing on the Hesperus and the three destroyers, one of which exploded as it was eviscerated by a fusillade of Plasma Cannon bolts. The Hesperus returned fire with its Beam Lasers, shooting brilliant shafts of orange light back at the Kintark ship.

Camilla's terrified face stared down at Galen from her holograph, her features shadowed by grief and fear. "Galen!" she gasped with relief, when he lurched to his feet. "Are you alright?!"

With his head ringing, Galen gave her an unsteady wave, then glanced around the Bridge to check for survivors. His helmsman was lying in a huddled pile, having been thrown clear of his station, while Chief Makins was slumped against his Engineering Console, slowly tapping buttons and blinking away the blood that was smeared over his face.

"You okay, Chief?" Galen asked between coughs, his breathing laboured.

"All systems... fucked," Makins replied weakly, pointing a trembling finger at the riot of red over the damage display.

Galen staggered over to the tactical station, which had been smashed askew, power cables trailing across the floor. He could see that those cables hadn't been severed, because the console was still lit.

"Hold on, Galen!" Camilla called out to him. "I'm going to send a shuttle for survivors. We'll distract the Kintark while the rescue team gets you out of there!"

Staring at the lopsided tactical display, Galen could see that the Hesperus stood no chance against the Vorkin'tor. The light carrier was massively outgunned, and while it still had its shields intact, so did the Kintark cruiser, despite the Vorkin'tor being near the epicentre of that devastating explosion. Leaning heavily against the console, he grabbed the upended weapons controls, then smiled when he saw that he still had three Heavy Cannons and Six Beam Lasers operational. He'd lost fire control for the Laser Cannons, but they were useless anyway.

"It's okay," he said, turning to look at Camilla's pretty face, sad to see her looking so upset and afraid. "I might stay here for a while... maybe play a bit of tag with the Kintark..."

Camilla shook her head frantically. "No, don't! They're ignoring you!"

Galen lined up the shot with the rear of the Vorkin'tor as it pursued the Hesperus, concentrating hard and trying to ignore his thumping headache. This was what he'd always lived for, being a ship's gunner and taking the fight to the enemy. Squeezing the trigger, the Beam Lasers hit the Kintark cruiser and overwhelmed the last of their shields, two of the shots carving a glowing furrow across its green armour plating. He smiled as he tapped the thumb buttons, the Antaeus lurching as the three remaining Heavy Cannons sent their massive shells pounding into the Kintark engines. One of the three propulsion systems was ripped clear of the hull by rippling explosions, spiralling away into space in a shower of debris.

"Tag, you're it..."

"Galen..." Camilla whispered, tears in her eyes once more.

He smiled with satisfaction when the Vorkin'tor banked around, the Kintark ignoring the light carrier to face the greater threat attacking from the rear. A wing of green bombers was heading their way from the Kintark fleet and Galen knew they didn't have much time. "Get out of here, Cam. You have to warn everyone... stop the lizards from winning..."

She tried to reply, but her voice was too thick with emotion. Camilla slowly nodded and turned away, not able to watch any longer.

Galen rested his weary head on the battered console, his eyes on the Weapon Status display as heat was vented from the Beam Lasers and the Heavy Cannons were reloaded with shells. The Antaeus shook with another explosion as it was hit by a burst of plasma bolts, the holographic display winking out, then flickering to life again a moment later. He gave the Vorkin'tor a grim smile as he watched it bearing down on him. Just a few seconds more and he'd make the Kintark eat another salvo of shells...

***

Captain Tovaskaya stifled a sob as Galen's holo-image crackled and died in a bright green flash, the Antaeus blown to pieces by the pitiless Kintark cruiser. She tried to give the order to retreat, but her eyes were too full of tears to see her Helmsman, and no sound came when she opened her mouth.

"It's alright, Captain," her XO said quietly, squeezing her hand. "We're heading for the jump point, just as Captain Skotari requested."

Camilla let out a shuddering sigh, wiping away her tears for the second of her dearest friends she'd lost in as many minutes. She slumped back in her chair and realised Commander Grayson was watching her with concern, a look of sympathy on his kindly face. Nodding her thanks to him, she turned grief stricken eyes back to the System Map and saw that they were leaving the Vorkin'tor behind, the hamstrung cruiser no longer fast enough to pursue them. The Kintark bombers were still closing, but they would be too late to intercept the Hesperus now.