Chapter 18
“...inevitable doom...”
Disguman had just landed on the Carpusian, and was being briefed on the current status of the impending battle.
“3rd Premier, it is an honor to have you aboard,” said the high commander.
Disguman waved him off. “We can deal with the pleasantries later, Commander. What is the status of military conditions?
“Our second, third and fourth fleets are moving into position around the Vlanco system and will be within striking distance in two days, Sir. Additionally, I have asked the Preeminent of Onos to meet with me for negotiations, and he has agreed. This will isolate the Vlanco leader from his people. Our Stealth Attack Group should arrive to destroy him and his escorts tomorrow.”
“I see....” Disguman pondered the circumstances. “However, when I arrived here, I was informed that the Vlanco field generators are being disabled on Onos and Donos as we speak. Your ambush will serve no useful purpose.”
“Would it not serve our objectives, to reduce any losses my men may incur in battle? Eliminating their supreme commander would cause organizational chaos and assist in our attack on Onos,” defended the high commander.
“No. It would not,” said Disguman calmly.
“Why not, 3rd Premier?”
“They do not lean on the hierarchy the way we do, Commander. Without the field generators, our attacks will be greatly in our advantage for something else. I have something that you may be of interest to you.” Disguman motioned to the view screen in the landing bay.
A group of men were carrying a metallic device about three meters long to the armament facility.
“What is it 3rd Premier?”
“You see, Commander. When I arrived, I took the liberty of instructing your men to install the Latent Energy device into your weapons array. It will adapt quite easily to the proton disrupter aperture.”
“I have heard of this weapon, 3rd Premier. But I thought it was only a small hand weapon.”
“Not anymore, Commander. I recently had a larger version constructed, and ready to test on our old nemesis,’ the Vlancos. We can initiate a test on the prison colony Transo. If it works as expected, we can then continue the battle on the heavily populated planets, with virtually no casualties to speak of.” Disguman shed a wicked little smile with a glint in his eye.
“The glee in your face is like that of a hardened soldier, waiting to torture and murder his opponent.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
“As you wish, 3rd Premier.”
“And, Commander. If this doesn’t work as expected, we may lose some of your attack vessels. In that case, do not attempt to save the prisoners. They are expendable.”
The commander bowed his head. “Yes, 3rd Premier.”
***
As the morning was dawning and the preeminent waited on the moon Trepnet. It was a second moon, not far from Transo, where the Negritee vessels had surrounded. Mid day passed, with no arrival of the high commander, he seriously doubted negotiations would even be held. The Transo advisor was the first to make contact with the preeminent and inform him of the approaching ships.
The preeminent assumed, due to the encirclement of Negritee vessels around Transo, an inevitable doom was in their future. The moon’s field generators were still intact. But if Vlanco military vessels didn’t arrive soon, it was expected the Negritee would try some tactical surprise to bring down the shields. No sooner had the preeminent received the news of the approaching vessels around Transo that he gotten the bad news about the destruction of the Onos generators.
Disguman, appeared on the view-screen.
“Greetings, Preeminent. I am 3rd Premier of the Negritee. My High Commander wants to apologize for missing the negotiations. But as it stands, we have decided to postpone them. We may be a bit busy for awhile.”
The preeminent shook his head. “Am I correct in assuming you have no intentions of negotiating, 3rd Premier?”
“Not unless it is to my advantage. And as of now, it is not.” Disguman chuckled.
“I was afraid of that,” said the Preeminent, with disappointment in his voice. “I hope you understand we must protect ourselves and that you may lose some of your people.”
“Of course, Preeminent. That is the nature of war.”
“It may be your nature, to war, 3rd Premier. But even your lives are precious to us.”
“They are? Then I expect you will let all the prisoners on Transo be released to me. In that way, you will not accidentally harm us in our quest to apprehend them.“
“I may consider that, 3rd Premier.”
Disguman frowned. “It really does not matter any way. I am going to release my men, whether you do or not. And, since you are such a philanthropic leader, I think I will allow you the privilege to view the death and destruction of all your people, so you can personally value every one of them as long as possible.” He laughed heartily.
The preeminent was pained. “Please do not attempt to take their lives, they are innocent.”
“I do not have time for your pleading. Give my regards to your Creator, because you will need his help re-creating when I am through.” He chuckled more. “You really should ask yourself if this Creator even exists. Where is he? It seems he is as helpless as you are.”
“Your wickedness will not be tolerated, and I warn you not to proceed, 3rd Premier. Your offensive words mean little to us, but they are an affront to the Creator. He will have vengeance upon your disrespect.”
“Thank you, Preeminent, I appreciate your concern and warning. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a solar system to manage—communication terminated.”
The preeminent leaned back and closed his eyes a moment. “I fear this will be a dreadful day for many people. Send word to Onos of our current dilemma.”
***
A warning from the Carpusian, was given to the authorities on Transo, to release the prisoners or be destroyed. The Vlanco military spheres from Onos were desperately trying to reach the moon but the estimated time of arrival was expected to be more than a day too late.
The latent energy device was in place and ready to be tested. The moon’s generators were not as powerful as those on Onos, but they normally could withstand standard Negritee weapons systems. No one had counted on the latent energy weapon. The weapon was set on half charge to send a message, as well as giving the device a preliminary test.
The first blast was released. It was a bolt of crackling charged energy. It floated down to the surface of the moon like an ominous grip of death. The shields on the moon held to the blast of the latent energy device, but the generators recoiled with a concussion that wiped out all primary circuits and virtually all protective shielding.
There was no military support and the Vlanco advisor reluctantly had to allow the prisoners released. The prisoners were in great spirits and celebrated their freedom as several Negritee freighters arrived to return them to the fleet. After the high commander thanked the Vlancos on Transo for the release of the prisoners, the signal was given for a full scale test on the latent energy device. With the Negritee criminals clear of the moon, the latent energy weapon was aimed at the center of the colony. Several hundred Vlanco men and their families waited helplessly in there habitats. The destruction was swift and devastating.
* * *
Meanwhile, Chip was speeding through space in his sphere avoiding all contact with the Vlancos. He had accomplished his job destroying the generators, and even the greatest of technicians wouldn’t be able to repair them before the attack from the Negritee. His rendezvous was with the flag ship Carpusian, currently orbiting the moon, Transo. The Carpusian and its support ships would soon regruoup near the planet Onos. They had no interest in the moon, Trepnet, where the Preeminent and his entourage were preparing for departure.
Chip connected with the Negritee ship Carpusian. “V, did you get my transmission?”
V appeared on the imager. “Yes, Earth person. We have noted your accomplishments and are anxious to receive you.”
“Call me Chip. Will the premier be there?”
“You must say, 3rd Premier, Chip. And yes, he will be present to validate your contract.”
“Outstanding. Is he with you now?”
“Yes, one moment.” V left the monitor momentarily, and the premier appeared.
“It is Chip, is it not?” said the premier, as he approached the monitor.
“Yes sir, I mean 3rd Premier.”
“We appreciate your efforts in aligning yourself with our cause, Chip. I understand the risks you took to escape from the Vlancos and am most grateful for the destruction of the field generators. I am sure you are anxious to receive your compensation and I will attend to the proceedings when you arrive. However, if you will excuse me, I must attend to issues of war.” The Premier bowed and left.
“He wasn’t such a bad guy,” Chip thought aloud.
V returned to the monitor, “Chip, continue on your present heading for linking with the Carpusian, and we will meet with you prior to the final phase of the attack on the Vlanco star system.”
“I’m on my way.”
Chip scanned the monitor and noticed several Vlanco ships approaching. They had been tailing him, trying to intercept him before he escaped to the safety of the Negritee. He hadn’t learned, fast enough, how to outrun veteran Vlanco pilots and was quickly losing ground. He calculated they would overtake him, prior to reaching the Carpusian.
Chip started to panic. “V, I need your assistance. Now! I didn’t get this far just to be pulled back to a lost cause.”
“I see your dilemma, Chip. One moment.” After what seemed an eternity to Chip, V appeared again. “We have sent two scouts from the second fleet. They will reach your position shortly. Be patient.”
The transmission was terminated. He estimated that the Vlanco vessels would overtake him in about an hour. “Come on!” said Chip frantically. He tried manipulate the maximum speed and direction toward the direction of the incoming Negritee ships. “I knew I should have spent some time with Tom at the military complex.”
After close to an hour, the Vlanco vessels finally were near enough to initiate appropriate measures to retrieve the stolen vessel and its cargo.
The monitor came on, and a Vlanco pilot quickly lectured Chip. “Earth person, you have violated a trust with the Vlanco people and must surrender or we will have to disable your vessel.”
Chip scanned the secondary monitor. Come on, you Negritee fools! Where are you? He needed to buy a little more time. “Ah, yea, okay, give me a chance to figure out how to slow this thing down,” said Chip, saying anything to stall them.
“I am truly sorry, but we have lost trust in your words, and must initiate military protocol,” said the pilot.
While Chip was trying to figure out the controls for the force field on the vessel, a bright pulsing energy ball was released from the Vlanco pursuers. It hit Chips ship without any apparent impact. But soon, it was noticeable what had taken place. The ship’s speed started to deteriorate, and Chip had lost control over the propulsion.
“What have you done to the ship!” yelled Chip.
“You must remember, Earth person, we know precisely how to disable our own vessels. All Vlanco space vessels can disable one another. It is a precaution for a situation such as this.”
Soon three Vlanco spheres were surrounding Chip’s fleeing ship and engaged a magnetic field to tow him back. Chip was less than pleased, and was trying to figure out how to disable his captures, when the Negritee scouts arrived.
“It’s about time you showed up,” called Chip, to the Negritee. “There is no way I want to go to prison.”
“Stand by Earth human, while we deal with the Vlanco scab.”
The Negritee pilots shouted a few obscenities to the Vlanco ships, and promised to destroy the Vlancos if they didn’t release Chip. The Vlancos politely reputed the threat and continued towing. The Negritee instantly sent a powerful burst of energy toward the Vlancos.
The Vlancos released Chips ship temporarily and scattered into a military formation to pursue the Negritee. The Negritee ships initiated scattered bursts of energy toward each Vlanco vessel with negligible effect to the Vlanco defensive shielding. The Vlancos then retaliated by activating something that seemed to trail to the aft end of their vessels, like a blue neon rope, whipping around behind them. They encircled the Negritee ships and released the blue rope near the Negritee vessels. A discharge erupted at sequential intervals off the main blue rope and sent smaller tributaries out from the main loop. The tributaries formed a porous shell around the Negritee vessels that connected to one another, like a hollow ball of string.
The blue ball rotated and pulsated with the Negritee ships caught inside. The Negritee tried and failed to break through. They shot weapons at the skeletal sphere, but was reflected back to the Negritee ships causing damage only to themselves.
After the Vlancos ensured the Negritee were contained, they again turned their attention back to Chip, ready to tow him back home.
Chip, however, sent an unexpected present to them. While the Vlancos and Negritee were in battle, he carefully extracted a few grains of the Tara 100 into three space suits filled with carbon dioxide, and dislodged them into space. Each suit contained a small thruster.
The Vlancos saw the three suits jettisoning into space, in three different directions. They tried to verify if Chip was still on board, before they attempted retrieval of the suits.
Chip used a scanning disrupter to disappear from the Vlanco’s readings.
The Vlancos paused before attempting a retrieval.
“Go get them,” whispered Chip. He hoped that they would be prudent and retrieved the suits, just in case Chip might be among them. As Chip hoped, they opened the suit to release the booby trap he had set.
The Tara 100 was exposed to the oxygen and exploded, causing the two ships who had picked up the suits to disintegrate. The third vessel was unharmed and instantly initiated the magnetic tow on Chips vessel.
“Anis Orifice!” shouted Chip, “I’ll never get rid of these guys.”
The viewing screen lit up and the pilot appeared. “It is my job to hold you to the responsibilities of your actions. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to secure you. Stand by, you will not be injured.”
“Yes, I know, you don’t harm even your enemies,” blurted out Chip. “Why don’t you just let me drift here in space...um, as my punishment.”
“I am afraid not, sir,” the last Vlanco pilot replied with condescension.
Chip scrambled for a solution to his problem. Maybe I can fire a probe or—
Out from the Vlanco ship flew a small probe to the access panel of Chips ship. A metallic claw crawled out of the probe and clamped onto a small port hole on the starboard side of the ship. As it clung to the side, it inserted a tube into the ships environmental control system.
Chip sniffed the air and noticed an odd smell. Before he could respond, he became lethargic, collapsed to the deck, and went to sleep.
***
The Negritee scout ships, although trapped in the blue spherical web, alerted a battle cruiser of their predicament and sent four fighters and a mine sweeper to clear the Vlanco containment field. To Chip’s fortune, the rescue team was on an intercept course.
Within the hour, the Negritee approached the Vlanco ship towing Chip. Even with weapons firing at full power, the four Negritee fighters could not penetrate the Vlanco shielding. The Vlanco pilot retaliated by firing a disabling energy plasma, like the one used to disable Chip’s propulsion, but due to their speed and agility, only one vessel was incapacitated. The Negritee mine sweeper intercepted and fired its only weapon—an energy field disruptor.
The Vlancos only protection was the energy field around it. But once it was disrupted by the mine sweeper, the last fighter sent additional bursts of power onto the Vlanco vessel. It blew to pieces.
Chip’s vessel was released and floated aimlessly in space.
The Negritee lead ship maneuvered around to the access portal on Chip’s vessel, and moored there. Chip was removed and transferred to one of the fighters. The minesweeper then rescued the ships trapped in the blue webbing.
***
When Chip awoke, he found himself with a headache in a Negritee fighter winging its way to the Carpusian. “Where am I?”
“You are on the a Negritee ship called the Deabow, Earth person. It is the best fighter in the second Negritee fleet,” said the pilot. “We rescued you from that Vlanco rodent, and are returning you to the high commander’s ship.”
Chip sat up quickly. “Excellent, excellent.” Blood rushed out of his head and he plopped right back down into a restful slumber. He woke to the sounds of the Negritee engines shutting down, as it reached the docking bay of the Carpusian. He panicked for a minute, reaching around his cot, until he noticed the container he had brought from Onos, still strapped to his waist. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and slowly gathered his wits before staggering to an upright position.
The Negritee pilot took hold of Chip’s elbow and guided him out of the ship. At the foot of the ship, the pilot saluted and presented Chip to the Commander.
“High Commander, this is the Earth person you wanted us to deliver to you.”
The commander slapped the shoulder of the pilot. “Fine execution of tactical performance. You will be rewarded.” He turned to Chip and examined his appearance from head to toe. “It is true. You have hair follicles. A very interesting physical feature.
“I have more to offer than just good looks,” said Chip, smiling. He patted the container at his side.
“Very well, Chip. The 3rd Premier is waiting to converse with you as soon as you are fit. Are you damaged in any way?”
“Oh no, I’m just a little groggy from that sleeping gas the Vlancos self imposed on me.”
“Well then, follow me to the control center of this vessel. The 3rd Premier is waiting.”
Chip was lead through corridors and elevators to the main control center of the ship. A group of soldiers were analyzing data and discussing strategy when he arrived. Chip noticed an individual with his hands behind his back, slowly pacing in thought, giving commands as he walked. Chip assumed he was the Premier.
Entering the area, Disguman looked up briefly, then continued to lay out strategy with military personnel. The high commander waited. Disguman was communicating with the other commanders of the second, third, and fourth fleets. The third and fourth fleets were strategically positioning themselves around the Donos Pladis. The first and second fleets were arranged around the Onos Pladis.
“It will be several hours and we will be in position,” said Disguman, “I will make one more communiqué with the Vlanco preeminent on Donos. The Onos preeminent is predisposed at the moment.” He laughed heartily, as did the commanders. “Inform me when the other fleets are in position for the final assault. I must be rid of the colony on Transo first.”
“Yes, 3rd Premier,” said the high commander.
The monitors resumed from the image of the commanders to planetary conditions, and Disguman turned his attention to his new arrival.
“Earth alien, it is a pleasure to have you aligned with us.” He greeted Chip with an Earth style handshake.
Chip reciprocated with respect. “Thank you, 3rd Premier, I am glad to be in service...for the both of us. If you know what I mean.”
“Yes I do. We almost lost you.” Disguman said, as he chuckled along with Chip. “I am sure, now that you are here, you will wish to validate your contract. We will attend to that as soon as possible, but first, we must take advantage of the Vlanco scum. Once we have dealt with them, you will be granted your reward, and a title you will be honored to have.”
“Thank you, 3rd Premier,” Chip said, bowing deeply.
“If you wish, you can stay here and see how we dispose of the Vlanco trash. We have just released and brought our people back from prison and are ready for the final assault on Transo.”
“I didn’t know there was a strong military on the moon,” said Chip.
“There is not. Only the civilian colonies. But if I let one Vlanco survive, it is one too many,” he said, smiling.
“I see,” said Chip, emotionless.
***
Before the latent energy device could be fully charged, twelve Vlanco spheres appeared over the horizon, moving at a rapid pace toward the Carpusian. They quickly spread into a honeycomb pattern, energizing a blue web of defensive shielding. They pulled it outward to cover as much area as possible to deflect any offensive weapons to the surface. At the same time word was given to the inhabitants on the moon to move to the underground shelters hundreds of kilometers below the danger. Once the web was in place, several spheres broke off and disabled a few Negritee fighters.
“Where did they come from!” Disguman shouted, surprised and annoyed.
Responding to the attack, Disguman gave the order to fire the weapon anyway, but with the web so close to the Carpusian, the energy was dispersed, before it had a chance to gain its full potential.
Before Disguman could retaliate, the high commander ordered thirty Negritee fighters out to attack the Vlancos and break up the webbing. The Negritee fighters continued to send a barrage of proton blasts to the sphere—no effect. Each sphere had its own defensive shielding, which deflected any conventional Negritee weaponry. Additionally, the spheres were launching a slurry, which attached and slowed any nearby fighters to a crawl. Many of the Negritee were becoming disabled and drifting helplessly into space. All this put a substantial crimp in Disguman’s plans.
“We don’t have time for this!” yelled Disguman to the commander. “Redirect the latent device to the spheres themselves. We might not be able to get through the webbing, but we can eliminate the source.”
The device was not fully charged but still had enough power to destroy one sphere at a time. Focusing on the first sphere, it fired a small but effective burst of crackling energy at the ship, completely absorbing and then obliterating it.
Within seconds, another Vlanco sphere took its place to retain the webbing.
The device was fired again, and again a sphere was destroyed, to be replaced by another ship. The Vlancos attacked the Carpusian, aiming for the latent energy device, but the shielding on the flag ship prevented any attempts by the Vlancos to disarm the device. The latent energy weapon, within the protection of the flag ship, continued to eliminate the spheres. The remaining spheres, in a desperate attempt to ward off the invaders, pulled the web directly to the Carpusian to wrap and seal the shell of the ship. Anticipating the move, the Carpusian moved back giving the latent energy device time to eliminate the rest of the spheres.
A few remaining Vlanco spheres turned and sped away into space.
“Excellent,” said Disguman. “Now let us remove the vermin on Transo and move onto Onos.”
The Carpusian hovered above Transo, with the latent energy device charging up to its full capacity. The weapon hummed louder and louder, its aim focused at the remaining Vlanco colonies below. The weapon was fired with a tremendous blast, and reciprocal recoil. It shot a huge blue and yellow teardrop shaped energy discharge that trailed down to the surface of the moon. An eerie crackling sound descended with the energy plasma as it descended to the moon.
Small explosions started a series of large implosions, ultimately causing a cascading effect on hundreds of miles of the moon’s surface. The shielding was briefly lit up with a glow, as the energy ate through the last remaining shielding to the oxygen underneath. Without shielding, the habitats broke apart like a card house in a hot desert breeze. Vlancos were clutching their throats as the oxygen escaped from the buildings. Their lives were quickly extinguished, as an electromagnetic charge spread rapidly through any solid matter in the vicinity. It was a destruction that no Vlanco or Negritee had ever seen before
Disguman was certain that the preeminent was on the next moon monitoring their attack and would have no way to assist. The 3rd premier relished the thought of the preeminent being emotionally devastated, and utterly helplessly. Disguman could only think how beautiful sweet pleasure the pain and death hundreds of people had given him.
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