Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3

The knot in Evohn Cystrom’s stomach was tightening as he watched the video feed of Invincible’s attack on ES 52. The old shuttle was stubbornly hanging on despite numerous direct missile strikes. Cystrom’s eyes narrowed as he noticed a large formation of Loyalist fighters heading straight at Invincible. He tried to understand why they’d launch such a futile attack, which would surely result in the annihilation of the entire squadron.

  Then he saw it: a fighter appearing out of thin air right on top of Invincible. His mouth dropped as he saw a bolt of thick orange fire erupt from the fighter. To his utter dismay, the plasma cut straight through and around the hull of Invincible. Then, after a few long tiks, the battle cruiser exploded, sending debris and shock waves in every direction. All the fighters in close proximity were obliterated, consumed by the explosion.

  Cystrom gasped and turned to Lt. Lethrow. “I thought fighters couldn’t carry plasma cannons.”

  Lt. Lethrow shook his head in disbelief. “I didn’t think they could, either. The power requirement is incredible.”

  “Again we’ve underestimated the Loyalists!”

  Specialist Prill walked up. “Sir, we’re coming up on ES 52.”

  “What!” Cystrom exclaimed. “Get us out of here! If they destroyed Invincible they can destroy us, too!”

  Lt. Lethrow punched a course correction into the computer. The ship began to move away from ES 52 and was soon going FTL again on a course for Earth.

  “I can’t believe this!” Cystrom yelled. “Another attack cruiser has been lost. This is unacceptable! We can’t let the Loyalists stop OCE! My father must be rolling in his grave. We can’t let him down!”

  Rupra Bruda stepped up and put his hand on Evohn’s shoulder. “OCE is already underway,” he said. “It’s too late for the Loyalists to stop it. All we have to do is kill Peter Turner and everyone he’s enlisted to oppose us. And with the resources we have on Earth that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “But how can we survive if the Loyalists have a stealth fighter with a plasma cannon?” Lt. Muri asked.

  “I don’t know, but with God’s help we’ll find a way,” Bruda replied.

  “There must be something we can do to defend ourselves,” the admiral said. “Can’t we double up on our patrols? Surely if a fighter gets close to our sensors we will pick it up.”

  “There were fighters all around Invincible and she didn’t detect the one with the plasma cannon until it was too late,” Lt. Lethrow replied.

  “So, you say there’s nothing we can do other than stay clear of ES 52?” the admiral asked.

  Lt. Lethrow shrugged. “Fighters have a limited range, so if we stay far enough away from the shuttle, we should be okay.”

  “But that’s not practical,” Cystrom replied. “We need to be in orbit around Earth in case our support is needed. There has to be another way.”

  “Well, perhaps we could extend our ionic shield out farther from the ship,” Lt. Lethrow suggested. “We’d know when the fighter went through it because it would knock out all the intruder’s electronics and it would immediately become visible. That might give us time to destroy it with our lasers before it could fire its cannon.”

  “Right, and we’d be looking for a stealth fighter,” the admiral said. “Invincible, on the other hand, had no idea such a thing existed. They never had a chance.”

  “That’s right, Admiral,” Lt. Lethrow said. “We should implement those changes immediately. In the meantime we’ll just have to stay clear of ES 52.”

  “Wait a minute,” Cystrom said thoughtfully. “Let me see that video feed again. As I recall, that fighter was extremely close to Invincible when she exploded. It may not have survived.”

  “I’ll play the last few loons again,” Specialist Prill said.

  All eyes turned to the video monitor. They watched it intently, but this time they focused on the attacking fighter. They saw it suddenly appear, fire its plasma cannon, veer away, and narrowly escape the explosion. Then their hearts soared as they saw two Purist fighters chase after it and eventually destroy it with a barrage of missiles.

  There were cheers on the bridge, and Evohn Cystrom felt incredibly relieved. “I wonder how many of those fighters they have?” he asked. “It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the only one.”

  “I’m sure it was,” Lt. Lethrow replied. “I was monitoring our production facility very closely and there weren’t any fighters with plasma cannons in production that I knew about. It must have been the T-73 prototype.”

  Specialist Prill looked up. “Sir, Commander Kulchz is hailing us.”

  “Good,” Evohn said. “He better have some good news.”

 

  Captain Sparten went back to his station on the bridge of ES 52. His communications specialist was waiting for him.

  “Sir.” It appears the other attack cruiser is gone.”

  The Captain frowned and then smiled when he saw Lt. Leary coming toward him. “Congratulations. You did it!”

  “Right, but Red wasn’t supposed to die,” Lt. Leary replied.

  “I know. That was unfortunate. Lt. Marz is pretty upset about it.”

  “I bet.”

  “But she’s a good soldier. She went back to work.”

  “That’s best. It will keep her mind off of what happened.”

  “The other attack cruiser seems to have disappeared,” Captain Sparten said.

  “Well, they’re probably afraid we have more T-73s.”

  The Captain nodded. “Probably so. I can imagine we really put a scare into them. They’ll think twice before they attack us again.”

  “How are we going to destroy the rest of them without a plasma cannon?”

  “Earth’s Destiny still has theirs,” Captain Sparten reminded him.

  “Right. But they’ll never get close to a Purist attack cruiser again.”

  “Maybe Rossi Sincini can figure out how to put one on a T-69. I sent him all the specs for the T-73. The man’s a genius. He might figure it out.”

  “Sure, in time, but we’re running out of that commodity.”

  “Sir,” the communications specialist said.

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “There are thirty-eight enemy fighters wanting to surrender and come aboard.”

  The Captain raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “It’s surrender or die,” Lt. Leary said. “They lost their mother ship. Without Invincible they’ll eventually run out of fuel and oxygen and die.”

  “Right, but they could fire their missiles once they got in the ship and we’d all go up in flames,” Captain Sparten said.

  “Have them jettison all armaments before allowing entry,” Lt. Leary suggested.

  “That’s a waste of good ammunition, but I guess it’s the only practical solution.”

  The Captain gave the order and the fighters, one by one, jettisoned all their missiles, disabled their lasers, and then flew onto the ship’s launching platform. Armed soldiers on the deck pointed laser rifles at them as crew members helped them take off their flight suits. Each was searched and then taken to holding cells. The planes were then scanned and searched for anything that could be a hazard to the ship. Several loons later, the Captain met with Captain Murre, the senior officer among the prisoners.

  “I trust you’ve been treated okay since your surrender,” the Captain said.

  “Yes, you’ve been quite hospitable.”

  “I need to ask you some questions.”

  “You know I can’t talk to you.”

  “Yes, that is your right, but I have two seafolken aboard who can read your mind, so you might as well just tell me what I want to know.”

  “I’ve been trained to block my mind from intruders, so don’t bother bringing them in.”

  “Not after I give you truth serum. Your mind will be so loose you’ll be spilling your guts to me.”

  “Truth serum? Like they use in criminal investigations?”

  “It?
??s actually something the American CIA developed and shared with us. It’s very effective. Shall we give it a try?”

  “I guess you’ll have to because you’ll never get anything out of me voluntarily.”

  The Captain shrugged. “Have it your way,” he said, and motioned to Lt. Marz, who approached them, carrying a vial and a syringe. Captain Murre began to struggle, but Captain Sparten held his arm still so Lt. Marz could administer the serum. After a few loons, Captain Murre became docile and slumped back in his chair.

  “Bring in Specialist Renel,” he said.

  A tall, slightly green-looking man walked in and took a seat across from the prisoner.

  “Look at me,” Renel ordered.

  The prisoner kept his head down, so Captain Sparten grabbed his hair and yanked it up, forcing the prisoner to look at Renel. The seafolken looked deep into Murre’s eyes and touched his mind. A flood of memories and images poured out. After a few loons he told the Captain he was done.

  “Now I know what he knows,” Renel said. “Ask me what you want to know and I will tell you.”

  “Take the prisoner back to his cell,” the Captain ordered. Two soldiers pulled him up by each arm and hauled him out of the room. “Okay, Specialist. Where is the rest of the Fleet?”

  “Videl’s Revenge was the other ship preparing to attack,” Renel said. “The other two continued on to Earth and should be orbiting the planet as we speak.”

  “So, New Age and Relentless are already in position.”

  “Correct.”

  “What are their orders now?”

  “To watch over OCE and provide any force necessary to ensure its success. So far everything is going well, and the only orders they have received involve the elimination of certain persons trying to interfere with the operation.”

  “Who’s on their hit list?” Captain Sparten asked.

  “So far they have been ordered to find and kill Commander . . . er, Peter Turner, his father and family, a CIA operative named Mo, an FBI special agent named Snead, a Secret Service agent called Hamilton and, of course, Captain Shilling and the crew of ES 26.”

  “So Peter has obviously been successful in warning the government,” Captain Sparten mused. “The question is whether or not they can do anything to stop OCE.”

  “It would seem so.”

  “What are they doing to try to stop Peter and the rest of them from interfering?” the Captain asked.

  “They’ve dispatched two hundred soldiers to a Maryland National Guard Station under Purist control where they’ll be refitted, and then stand ready to respond if anyone on the list is spotted. Also, one of Commander Kulchz’ units in Texas is searching for Peter’s family, not to kill them, but to hold them hostage as leverage against Peter in case he jeopardizes OCE.”

  A sinking feeling came over Captain Sparten. He didn’t know how Peter and the few others whom he’d managed to recruit to try to stop OCE could possibly be successful against such a well formulated plan that had been underway for a generation or more. He knew he had to get them some help.

  “Check our link to Tarizon and see if it’s up. I need to talk to the Chancellor.”

  Lt. Marz, who had remained during the interrogation, said she’d check and ran off. A few moments later she returned. “It’s up. Come now, sir. We’re hailing the Chancellor.”

  The Captain leaped up and walked quickly to the bridge. A concerned looking Chancellor Lorin Boskie was on the screen.

  “Chancellor, I am so glad we were able to make contact,” Captain Sparten said.

  “Yes, it’s been some time. What’s happening?”

  “Well, we’ve managed to destroy two attack cruisers with our plasma cannons, but I’m afraid we lost Red and our T-79.”

  The Chancellor’s face turned white. “Oh, my God!”

  “Yes, we were under attack and we had to take out Invincible or perish. I guess he knew it was a suicide mission. It’s nearly impossible to pull out quickly enough to avoid getting hit by the debris from the explosion, but he never wavered.”

  The Chancellor struggled to keep her composure. “Yes, Red is . . . was . . . a true hero. . . . Well, I have some good news for you. The next shuttle behind you has two new T-73s, and the engineers have managed to increase the range of the plasma cannons by twenty percent. This should increase the pilots’ chance of survival substantially.”

  “Yes, that is good news. When will the shuttle arrive?”

  “In seven to ten days.”

  Captain Sparten’s face dropped. “Oh. I don’t know if we have that much time. It could be all over by then.”

  Captain Sparten briefed the Chancellor on all that had happened. He explained what he’d learned about OCE and how the President had already been abducted. He told her that Peter and all who were helping him were being tracked down and would be killed if found.

  “So, I don’t know what to do, Madam Chancellor. That’s why I’m glad I was able to get through. We need your and Threebeard’s advice.”

  “Yes, I’ve already patched Threebeard into the call. He is listening.”

  “Hi, Captain,” Threebeard said as his image appeared on the screen. “I commend you for what you have already accomplished. It is very laudable.”

  “Thank you, sir, but I fear without a miracle all will be lost.”

  “Nonsense. You have done far more than I expected. You’ve destroyed a third of the Purist Fleet. I doubt anyone could have hoped for more.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Now you need to leave orbit and go dirtside to protect Peter and all those who are helping him. Forget about the Fleet for now. Take the shuttles to the surface and hide them. That way you’ll be beyond the range of the attack cruisers since they must stay in space; they were not built for atmospheric flight. If you can delay the success of OCE for seven to ten days then we can deal with the attack cruisers and defeat the Purists once and for all.”

  “Yes, sir. You’re right. I should have thought of that.”

  “Go now. There is no time to lose.”

  The Captain nodded, and the screen blinked back to Lorin.

  “May God and Sandee be with you, Captain.”

  “Thank you, Madam Chancellor,” he said and the screen went blank.

  The Captain thought a moment and looked at Lt. Leary. “You heard Threebeard,” he said. “Take us to Earth. Find us a landing site somewhere near Washington, DC. Let me know when we are close enough to make contact with Captain Shilling. I need to update her on a few things so she can relay the information to Peter. I need to warn him about the Purist soldiers masquerading as National Guard Troops.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lt. Leary said and gave the order.

  ES 52 started to move and quickly gained speed until it was back at maximum, on course for Earth. Captain Sparten’s emotions had been on a roller coaster ride for the last few kyloons, but now he felt confident that there was at least a slim chance of beating the Purists and saving Earth.